Pokemon Mystery Dungon The Wardens Eternal
by ArrowheadLock
Summary: (PMD Sky Fanfiction) Working through great pain and a clouded mind I managed to rise to my feet as my training returned little by little. Instincts and experience from a past I no longer remember continue to pump through my veins. I do not know who I am or why I am here but I do know this. I will continue to fight 'till the end of time. . .
1. Mysterious Beginnings

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter One: Mysterious Beginnings**

"Hang on! We're almost there!" A figure shouted pulling an accomplice higher up the face of a sheer cliff. Below them, sharp rocks waited in the white waters of the sea below to break the two clinging on for dear life.

Thunder roared loudly as the dreaded rain continued to fall without mercy, the runoff cascading off the cliff and onto the two below fighting for their lives. The one higher up reached for a handhold, but the water denied any chance of a solid grip, only his swift reflexes enabled him to grab a tree root to stop his fall.

"Come one grab my hand! We're going to make it!" He encouraged holding out his hand to his companion who stretched his own arm to reach it.

"Almost!"

The next lightning strike impacted the cliff next to the second figure's face stunning him and sending him to the deadly seas below

"NO! MAR-"

He hit the water, and everything went black.

 **Wardens Eternal**

By the time the sun rose the next day, the fierce storm had lifted allowing the sun to rise freely and cast its light to the world below. Still, the damage was done, green leaves and grass continued to shed the rainwater accumulated overnight while the soil below continued to squish around underfoot.

Thankfully Treasure Town, one of the most significant settlements on the map, only was damaged slightly from the storm, the wind ripping new holes in the sides of the many tents. That could be remedied in an hour, and soon it was business as usual, happy and carefree.

Well, happy and carefree for most people. . .

Atop a nearby hill, a large tent stood accompanied by several totem poles and flanked by raised firepits. The entrance to the tent was blocked by a heavy iron gate meant to keep out unwanted intruders, and if the various dents and marks were anything to go by, it did its job quite well.

Unfortunately, that made the whole tent look like a towering castle with the unwelcoming message "KEEP OUT" written in black iron to the young soul out front.

The soul in question was a vulpix, a red colored fox with several tails. A large scarf wrapped itself around her neck, a deeper red in color. She stared at the gate terrified, her feet trembling on the verge of carrying her away at a moment's notice.

"No, I, I came this far." The fire type thought out loud, trying to summon all her courage, "I made it this far, I have to try."

One trembling paw at a time, the fox pulled herself up onto the glass panel that covered a grated hole and braced for, for anything.

. . .

"NO ENTRY!"

A voice erupted without warning with a volume to rival the recent storm, shouting two words that broke the vulpix's heart.

"But-"

"I SAID NO ENTRY!"

Almost as if the yelling threw her off the glass window, the fox ran away down the hill blinded by tears. Only a few steps away from fulfilling her dream, only for some cruel fate to deny her that opportunity at the last second. What had she done to deserve this?

As soon as the coast was clear two figures emerged from their hiding places behind shrubs impishly twisted grins adorning their faces.

"Oh that was fun," One of them a zubat chuckled, "Nice impression of the Gatekeeper Koffing"

"Pathetic little thing had no Idea eh?" The koffing agreed, "Did you see that scarf on her though?"

"It did look pretty spendy, must have spent a lot of coin on it." zubat admitted, "Probably has some more coin or goodies on her. Thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh ho ho!" koffing realized, "I believe I am, should we have some fun with her?"

"Yes," zubat grinned, "Let's"

The two nodded in agreement before following the vulpix's trail.

 **Wardens Eternal**

The vulpix kept on running and running blindly, trying to force the tears out of her eyes. The sun baked mud trail abruptly ended, being replaced with cool, soft sand beneath her paws as she entered the beach. Finally, her legs, weakened by her depression, gave out causing her to fall onto the sand. Continuing to sob, the fire type curled herself up as if it was an attempt at hiding herself from a world that had done nothing but ruin her dreams.

The sun began to set, and the local krabby came out and took their positions along the beach and stones before beginning their show. Gently blowing, the water types soon filled the evening sky with innumerable delicate bubbles. Each bubble acted like it's own crystal in a grand chandelier refracting and reflecting the setting sun's light to create a masterpiece to behold.

With her crying starting to end the vulpix managed to look up at the display, all the beautiful colors immediately had a calming effect powerful enough to ease the fiercest of quarrels or mend the most broken feelings. And it was working, only here, on the beach at sundown did the Vulpix feel at ease and free from her fears.

But that tranquility was about to change. . .

A painful groan snapped the vulpix out of her trance as she jumped to her feet in surprise, suddenly looking all around for the source of the noise.

 **Wardens Eternal**

Pain.

The first thing he identified was pain throughout his body, but in his line of work, it was a welcome sign. It meant he was still alive.

Slowly the rest of his body began to respond starting with his ringing ears. He could hear a voice, but the ringing made it impossible to understand. His vision was extremely blurry, but slowly returning to normal as he pushed himself off the ground. His head felt like a solid boulder, his mind felt, obstructed. His instincts were still there, but memories felt distorted, twisted, out of context.

If not missing entirely.

" _Oh, just great. Must of hit my head pretty good somehow."_

"Hey! Can you hear me? Are you okay?" The ringing ears cleared up, finally meaning he could understand what the voice was saying. Judging by the tone, he was out of any sort of immediate danger, a welcome change.

"Yeah," He groaned, wincing in pain for a moment, "Won't be pretty but I'll live."

"That's a relief," The voice sighed, "When I found you passed out I was afraid you were already dead. Think you can get up?"

"G-give me a minute." he groaned as he moved his hands in front to help get back to his feet when he froze. He didn't have hands, he had paws.

"Is something wrong?" The voice asked noticing his hesitation as he racked his mind for answers.

"Yes, no, I can't tell anymore," He admitted, "Last time I checked though, I was human."

"H-human? Like from the legends?" The voice asked in disbelief, "You look like a luxio to me, albeit a big one. Are you trying to pull something?" The voice asked, growing suspicious.

"A what?" He jumped to his feet and studied his reflection. The face of the blue and black electric lion stared back. Even if he doesn't remember all of them he knew that he'd seen more than his fair share of things that didn't make any sense, still, this was quite unexpected.

"You're telling the truth aren't you?" The voice realized, "What happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." The luxio admitted, "Must have hit my head pretty good because I don't remember much. It's all blank, at least for now." he turned to face the source of the voice finding a vulpix slightly tilting her head at him.

"Well, do you still remember your name? Anything?"

"Mar. . . Mar something." The luxio replied, "Mark? No, Marcas?, No that's not it. Marlin? No, Marven, Marvel, no no no no, Martian? No…" The electric type continued to struggle until one name seemed to fit: Martian.

"Martian?" The vulpix repeated, trying the weird name for the first time before nodding, "Nice to meet you, I'm just glad you aren't a bad Pokemon."

The luxio, Martian immediately raised an eyebrow, a red flag suddenly went off in his head.

"N-not that I thought you were!" the vulpix quickly defended herself, "It's just that recently, more and more Pokemon are getting more aggressive and, and worse. It's hard to know who to trust nowadays."

Martian nodded in understanding before the vulpix was suddenly tackled from behind. Martian instinctively braced to break the vulpix's fall, triggering a faint distorted memory of when he did something similar as a human. Something important.

"Oops, So-rry." The zubat sarcastically laughed after he sent the vulpix tumbling.

"What was that for?" The vulpix demanded as she turned to face the two hovering Pokemon

"It's what we do pipsqueak." Koffing replied, "We find a soft Pokemon like you and then we mess around with them. What you going to do? Fight back?"

The vulpix was about to retort when she stopped herself, looking down at the sand in shame.

"Heh, thought so." koffing scoffed smugly, "How much coin we get?"

"Uh, none, she's broke," Zubat reported looking for any coin on the ground. "Not a single piece, Just this piece of rock."

"No! That means everything to me!" The vulpix pleaded once she saw what the bat was holding, "It's my personal treasure!"

"Treasure?" Koffing's disappointment vanished at the mention of the word, "might actually be worth something then, grab it!"

"Well, I think we'll be on our way now," Zubat causally stated as he grabbed the small stone shard, "You're free to come get it back girl, if you're not too chicken!"

The two laughed as the flew into a nearby cave, Koffing stopping at the entrance to turn around and stick his tongue out at Martian and the vulpix before he rejoined his ally.

"No, that was my personal treasure, it meant everything to me." The vulpix wept as she dropped to the sand. "It was everything I dreamed about, what I wanted to be, but without it. I don't know what to do. I'm such a coward."

"I'll help you get it back."

"W- What? Y-you will?" The vulpix looked up in utter surprise to see Martian stand to his full height examing one of his paws before closing it over his chest.

"On my honor."


	2. The Beach Cave

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Two: The Beach Cave**

Another shellos jumped out, ready to fight the pair who dared to intrude his home only to be swiftly defeated with a single tackle. The vulpix took a moment to brace herself, preparing for any sort of retaliation, only to sigh when she realized that the sea slug made no attempt at recovering.

To an outside observer, the shellos' attack was just another anticlimactic encounter, there wasn't any real serious danger or risk. Just another feral pokemon knocked aside in a single blow. Quite unremarkable in retrospect.

But to the vulpix, it meant everything: That momentary rush of adrenaline, the feeling of success, of accomplishment. The sensations felt foreign, having something she did by herself actually ending well for her was still a relatively new experience. With each step, the constant fear that something terrible was going to happen began to subside. The red fox wasn't as scared or submissive as she was just minutes before.

"Come on! Let's keep going!" The vulpix encouraged her companion before bounding deeper into the cave.

The luxio couldn't resist but chuckle with a smirk on the side of his muzzle. It was, rewarding, to watch the timid fox he met on the beach transform into someone else entirely. There was more of a youthful, energetic spring in her movements, the fear that previously dominated her actions had begun to lose its grip. Now all she needed was a little push to permanently break free of the confinement of her cowardly behavior.

He would be ready to give that little push when the time was right, but for now, he would let her proceed, keeping close enough to step in if things went wrong, but not enough to actually fight for her. She needed to do this herself, if he won it for her, the victory wouldn't have any value and it would be for nothing.

"Are you coming? We're almost there!" The vulpix called back over her shoulder.

 _"_ _We're almost there, almost-"_

The luxio growled in pain as he almost collapsed under the massive surge of pain bombarding his head. The vulpix's words had triggered a mere fragment of a memory. No context, no recollection on who had spoken or why. Just the four words in a weary, yet hopeful tone.

"A-are you alright?"

Martian snapped back to reality when he realized the vulpix was standing over him with an expression of concern and a little afraid.

"I'll live," Martian groaned as he rose again to his feet. "Thought I was beginning to remember something, nothing other than a migraine."

"Are you sure? You're not hurt are you?" The vulpix insisted, "M-Maybe we sh-should quit an-and go back. I-I don't want t-to get you h-hurt."

"Enough." The larger pokemon commanded, putting an immediate halt to both the vulpix's studdering and shaking body. They had made it this far and he wasn't going to let her quit because of a little headache.

Truthfully, with four legs and a lower center of gravity, it was much easier to retain control of his balance and momentum. The migraine didn't actually interfere all that much, besides it was fading pretty quickly.

As the source of concern passed, the two continued on into the caves. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

After a small while of wandering through the network of caverns and tunnels. The pair finally arrived in the final cavern to find their targets. The duo of thieves had their backs turned to the quadrupeds and were huddled together examining the stone relic they had stolen.

"Remember, they will try to degrade you with insults first, try to drag you down to where they have the advantage." Martian whispered into the vulpix's ear, "Everything they say is probably a bluff, an empty threat. Challenge it."

The vulpix silently nodded before taking a few steps forward, leaving Martian to hang back in the shadows.

"H-Hey!"

The two bullies jumped in surprise spinning around until the found the vulpix.

"Oh, it's you." Zubat sneered, "The puny coward from the beach. Did you come down here to whimper and beg for your piece of junk?"

"Actually you're just in time wimp." Koffing admitted, "We were just thinking about what to do with your rock. I thought it would be a good idea to smash it and sell the pieces as shards from an ancient statue. Collectors would pay a fortune for them! What do you think?"

"No! Th- That's my personal treasure! It means everything to me!" The vulpix panicked, the familiar weight of doubt ominously hovering overhead again.

"Then you have some awfully low standards runt." Zubat scoffed, "Let's just smash it and leave it here. It ain't even worth the weight carrying it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Koffing reluctantly agreed. "Who would seriously fall for it? Aside from her I mean?"

The floating gas Pokemon shrugged before hovering over to the stone before getting ready to headbutt it into dust.

That's when the grip of fear on the vulpix snapped, and her strength returned in full. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she reared up on her hind legs, releasing a barrage of small balls of fire as she slammed her front paws back into the ground. By far, her most powerful Ember attack to date.

The attack nailed the unsuspecting Koffing directly in the back, knocking him away from the stone and effectively halting his attempt at destroying it.

"Why you little- Die!" Zubat demanded as he dove at the vulpix with glowing fangs, barely having time to acknowledge the shadow that draped over him before a maw of teeth clamped shut on his wing.

Martian had made his move the moment the vulpix's attack impacted the poison type. As he predicted, the zubat tried to rush the fox with his fangs. The former human made sure to be in the right position to intercept that attack. It was an unexpected, but welcome surprise when the bat screamed in agony as the luxio's fangs channeled a powerful electric shock into his wing.

Thunder Fang, one more thing a human couldn't usually do. Maybe becoming a pokemon wasn't so bad after all?

The luxio landed on his feet with the bat still trapped in his jaws, to maximize the potential of his situation Martian briefly thrashed his head around taking the zubat for a ride before discarding him and throwing the flying rat away. Zubat hit the ground rolling groaning in pain as the last remains of the electrical energy caused his wings to twitch uncontrollably.

Now it was Koffing turn to hesitate, trying to piece together how his buddy just got jumped and taken down so easily. The vulpix seized the opportunity for a perfect Feint Attack, capitalizing Martian's distraction to solidly plant her paw in the back of Koffing's head, hard. The impact sent him flying.

The poison type soon face planted the cave floor not too far from his ally. Zubat managed to get airborne again with a frustrated sneer on his face that promptly disappeared when he realized he was outmatched. On his right was a very angry vulpix getting ready to unleash another fire attack and to his left was a huge luxio armed with big claws and barred teeth, teeth that seemed to have electricity arcing from one carnivorous tooth to the next.

There really was only one choice.

"Come on, get up get up get up get up!" Zubat panicked as he tried to get his friend up and moving. When the ball of toxic fumes didn't budge, and with both of the quadruped pokemon slowly advancing closer to him Zubat finally grabbed Koffing and ran. Dragging his friend as fast as he could across the cave floor, the bat somehow accelerated even faster when the luxio gave chase nipping at the flying rodent's tails with another Thunder Fang.

Martian continued to chase Zubat to the entrance of the chamber before stopping. That said, he wasn't going to let them off that easy just yet. The former human took a stance and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with air as his newly retractable claws extended, anchoring him to the ground. Time seemed to slow for a moment, the only sound that broke the silence was his own heartbeat.

 _Thum Thum, Thum Thum, Thum Thum, Th-_

The luxio roared, dominating the air with his voice. The roar echoed throughout the cave network, bouncing and repeating off of every solid surface. An uncompromising declaration of strength, a rumble that seemed to shake the earth, an invigorating warcry.

Even as the echoes began to fade, the luxio could still feel the charged energy and passion that still clung to the air. He could feel the power throughout his body, every minute smidgin of electrical energy, every drop of blood, every fiber in his being: Thier strength unwavering, and all at his command.

The vulpix ran over to the stone the thieves left behind checking it for any signs of tampering before laying down with a massive sigh of relief to find it undamaged. She reached out with a paw and pulled it in close to her chest before curling up around it. It felt so good to have it back, to have it right close to her heart where it belonged.

"Hey, are you going to be alright?" Martian asked as he turned to face the vulpix again. Whatever that stone was, it was clear that getting it back was a great personal victory for her. Hopefully, she'll walk away from this a lot stronger and far more confident in herself then when it began.

"Better than I could imagine," The fox admitted, "I'm used to running away from trouble, I never had the strength to actually face it on my own before. I'd always chicken out and run. I definitely wouldn't have dared to clear out a Mystery Dungeon to get this back on my own. Thank you."


	3. Scarlett

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Three: Scarlett**

The stars and moon had seized the sky when the two emerged from the network of caverns, the gentle lullaby of the sea's waves gently striking the soft sand. The beach was beautiful in the moonlight at this hour.

"Do you have anywhere to stay?"

"What?" Martian tuned to ask the vulpix, surprised by her offer.

"I meant do you have anywhere to stay tonight? I mean can you remember where you lived before you washed up on the beach today?" The vulpix explained.

"No, not that I can recall." the luxio admitted. "I think I lived on the move with, with someone."

"Oh," The vulpix sighed, "I asked because I'd be willing to share my campfire with you for the night, I owe you for helping me get my Relic Fragment back, I wanted to make it up to you."

The blue lion remained silent for a few minutes, mentally debating on whether it was alright to accept the offer. In the end, he agreed, he didn't know what it would take to figure out who he was, but instinct told him that making friends would help him reach that goal.

The vulpix perked right up with joy when she heard his reply, partly because yes she wanted to repay him, but also because she was lonely and scared unless the mysterious luxio was close. There was just, something about him, something that gave her strength.

The young vixen led Martian to her little campsite, near the entrance of the beach just hidden behind some vegetation. It wasn't much, a small campfire and a makeshift bed made out of old leaves and pine needles, but it was humble and cozy. Perfect for its owner, even though now it did seem a little cramped with two pokemon instead of one.

"Live on the move too eh?" Martian asked as he examined the site, "Seems a little odd for someone like you to travel alone. Is there a story behind that?"

"Sort of," The vulpix shyly admitted before shrugging. "I guess I can tell you, you did tell me your story about how you wound up here, guess I should tell you mine."

"I've always been fascinated with Adventurers, Fearless heroes on awe inspiring expeditions for untold treasure and excitement. Pokemon who would brave mysterious locations and uncover ancient knowledge and secrets! Who knew what would be around the next corner? Some new danger or a brand new trove of gold and gems?" The vulpix grinned, her imagination and passion dancing in her eyes. Martian couldn't help but politely laugh, he could barely remember growing up idolizing such heroes himself.

"A, Anyway, I loved those stories ever since I was a little girl. They were my childhood, every night I would dream about becoming a famous explorer myself, about all the wonders I could discover." The vixen continued, "Then I learned I actually could become one by joining an exploration team. I was so excited! But then Mother scolded me for even thinking about it. She told me Exploration teams were criminals, grave robbers, trespassers. She forbid me from joining a team." The fire type looked at the ground in shame.

"Sounds like she was just trying to protect you if a little too much," Martian commented.

"Protect me, or control me." The vulpix growled, "I never was good enough for her, and anything I wanted to do got me grounded. Even playing outside was against the rules."

"Okay, that's taking it too far." Martian corrected himself, forbidding a child from something possibly dangerous is one thing, forbidding a child from their own free will was something else.

"So one night I ran away. I managed to take my scarf and what little coin I could get ahold of and made a run for it." The vulpix explained, "I was so scared, I couldn't go back. And then I found my Relic Fragment. I know it looks like just a jagged piece of rock but look here."

The vulpix pointed out the flat side of the stone with her paw, emphasizing strange markings carved into the flat face, in the center was a small hole that the fox tied a small length of cord through to hang it around her neck.

The slightest twitch of familiarity sparked in the back of Martian's mind. Did he remember that pattern from somewhere? The former human dismissed the thought, he'd already seen the same stone several times, of course it would be familiar.

"I felt like this is the key to some vault full of treasure or knowledge, I thought it was a sign that I should pursue joining an Exploration team." The vulpix resumed, "This fragment belongs somewhere, I want to discover where that is! That's why I came to this area, Treasure Town and an exploration guild are just up that trail. But when I went up to join the guild I-"

The vulpix lowered her head in shame, sighing in defeat.

"I chickened out. Someone yelled at me and I ran, I thought it was the gatekeeper until I realized it was that koffing's voice."

Martian immediately put a paw on the vulpix's shoulder to comfort her. "So you lit his rear end on fire before shoving his face into the ground. You are the one who came out on top, not him or his winged rat friend."

The vulpix grinned a little at that statement, in hindsight it was kinda funny how easily she and Martian sent the two bullies running. Well, flying and being dragged to be more accurate.

 _Maybe. . ._

 _No! Why would he bother even considering it with a runt like her?_

 _She wasn't a runt! A runt couldn't challenge a Mystery Dungon and survive, let alone win!_

 _Then what was she aside from a coward who ran away from home to follow some make believe fantasy?_

 _A . . . A nobody, but this was her chance to change that! Ask him while you still have the chance!_

 _Yes, ask him. Go ahead. You know the answer will be "no"._

 _Shut Up!_

The war between the two voices raged on in the vulpix's head, giving her a slight headache as she finally chose to speak.

"M- Martian?" the young vixen stuttered, suddenly looking at the ground.

"Yes?"

"W-Would you be interested in- in forming a- an Exploration T- team with m-me?" The young fire type finally managed to spit the words that seemed to be glued to her tongue out.

The luxio didn't hesitate at all with his answer. Causing the poor vulpix to again drop her head in grief. Of course he would say that! What did she expect?

The fire type's sobbing froze when a black paw gently touched her chin, raising it up to make her have eye contact with him.

"You didn't hear me correctly. I said Yes." The electric type said softly, clarifying the words he spoke were not the same as that her mind told her she heard. He lowered his paw from her chin and politely waited. Giving the vixen ample time to decode what she just heard.

The vulpix was dumbstruck. This couldn't actually be happening! She was a nobody! A runaway! What had she done to earn his trust? Pokemon just weren't that selfless anymore! What made Martian any different? Was it because he was also a nobody? Who cares? He said yes!

The fire kitsune squealed in utter delight as she closed the distance between them, leaning into the electric lion's side in the equivalent of a very tight hug. This was the best day of her life!

"Uh, you do know you're sitting in the fire right?" The luxio hesitantly asked, still slightly stunned at the sudden show of affection.

The kitsune broke the embrace and looked at her feet only to realize that yes, in her rush to embrace Martian, she was indeed very much sitting in the campfire. Good thing that as a fire type, she was immune to all but the most powerful of flames and heat.

The worst she had to worry about was the black soot that stuck to her paws and fur and being incredibly embarrassed as she stepped backwards out of the fire. Even with a full coat of red fur, a noticeable blush appeared on her cheeks.

"You know I just realized something." Martian, her newfound partner admitted after laughing a little, "Even with all the shenanigans we've put up with tonight. I don't think I ever got your name."

The blush grew when she realized that it was true, among all the excitement since they met, not once has she told Martin her name.

"Scarlett. My name's Scarlett." The vulpix introduced herself, gesturing to her scarf of said color, "At least, that's the name I want to go by now."

"Then it's the name we'll use." Martian agreed. "But for now I think the best course of action is to get some rest. We can worry about making this official tomorrow when the sun's up."

Scarlett was about to agree when her stomach suddenly made itself known, Once again the blush returned to her embarrassed face.

"Uh, think I might have forgotten to eat today," Scarlett admitted sheepishly, pushing her improvised bed aside to reveal a hidden apple and a few berries.

"Didn't want to lose them if I got mugged. Spent the last of my coin on them so I wanted to make them last." Scarlett explained, "Did you want anything Martian?"

"Just an Oran Berry if you got one," Martian admitted, he wasn't hungry but the medicinal properties of the blue fruit would help ease the lingering aches and pains from washing ashore earlier. It'd be nice to get rid of them.

As soon as the pair finished their meal, the bid each other goodnight and went to sleep.

 **And So. . .**

 **Scarlett and Martian. . .**

 **Agreed to form an Exploration Team. . .**

 **Little did they know. . .**

 **That it would be the first step in a Grand Adventure. . .**


	4. The Guild

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Four: The Guild**

"Come on Martian! The Guild's this way!"

Martian didn't know whether he was going to groan at Scarlett's seemingly infinite energy or chuckle at her being in such high spirits. In the end, he could only keep running to try and catch up with the hyper kitsune. While Martian woke up at sunrise, spending his morning trying to remember who he was, Scarlett slept in until late morning.

It seemed that even in an all out sprint, she couldn't get back to the guild fast enough. This was it! Only a few more seconds until she fulfills her dream! There was no way she was going to chicken out and run away this time, she just knew it!

The young fox finally made it past the final step to the top of the hill, skidding to a stop as she again examined the sentence. The tent looked a lot smaller and welcoming than the last time she was here. The totem poles, while Scarlett could swear that last time they followed her with their lifeless stares, remained locked in place. Quickly she stuck her tongue out at them, just to prove that she wasn't afraid of them anymore.

Martian finally made it to the top after a few seconds, taking a few deep breaths to even out his panting.

"Next time you run like that Scarlett, give me a little warning before leaving me to breath in all the sand and dirt you kicked up," Martian advised before stepping forward. Now to figure out the next step. . .

The luxio advanced a few paces, looking for anything that resembled a bell or knocker, something to notify the Gatekeeper. Unknowingly, he stepped atop the grated window built into the floor. Almost immediately his enhanced hearing picked up a heavily obstructed voice coming from somewhere below him. The second voice didn't require as advanced hearing to understand.

" **WELL WHAT IS IT SENTRY!"**

Suddenly, enhanced hearing didn't seem like such a great thing anymore.

" **WHAT DO YOU MEAN MAYBE!"**

" **UH, YOU'RE DOING A CRUMMY JOB AT THIS SENTRY! IDENTIFYING POKEMON UP TOP IS YOUR JOB ISN'T IT? I'VE GOT TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF! CHATOT!"**

"Sounds like someone's got a temper. And really big lungs." Martian deadpanned once the only side of the argument he could hear finally ended. Hopefully, his ears would stop ringing soon.

"Do you think they'll let us in?" Scarlett asked shyly peeking at the iron gate from behind Martian. Before the electric type could respond, however, the iron portcullis barring the entrance began to rise with the sound of heavy ratchets at work. Once the gate was fully raised, a rather small, colorful parrot flew out landing in front of the former human.

"Ah! A Luxio, I was under the assumption that your kind died out a few years ago." The bird thought out loud rather cheerfully as he examined Martian's body. "How did you survive the massacre at Amp Plains? Or did you come from a separate pride?"

"To the best of my knowledge, I'm unaffiliated with any others," Martian stated. "Is this the Exploration Guild?"

"Why, yes it is of course!" The parrot answered, again a little too cheerful. "But we are not interested in supporting you cause, buying your product, or answering your silly surveys. So go on, Shoo!"

Martian was very close to making this bird sing a very different song.

"But we're not here to do any of that!" Scarlett spoke up. "We came here so we could become an exploration team."

The bird squacked in surprise before starting to laugh. Did these two youngsters really think they were exploration team material?

"Come on Scarlett, this circus is a complete joke." Martian growled, "Think we'll head into town and find work there."

That got the birds attention real fast.

"N-No No, No need for that!" The bird panicked frantically flapping his wings as he blocked the path back down the hill before resuming his cheerful persona. "If you wanted to join our guild as apprentices why didn't you say so?"

"You were a little occupied preening yourself to let us," Martian grumbled under his breath as he gave the bird a good solid glare.

". . . Right. Follow me please." The bird requested hopping back into the tent heading down a flight of stairs. The colorful parrot continued to lead the pair down another flight of stairs to the second floor.

"This is the second floor," The parrot explained, "It is off limits to the public and other exploration teams as it is primarily reserved for the Guild's operations and apprentices. Registration is this way, follow me please!"

Scarlett looked around in absolute awe at the place. All of the bright lively colors, the stones seemed to speak to her. Telling her their history and of the many great expedition teams that had walked in the very same room. She was so distracted, that she ended up walking into Martian's flank when their guide stopped just outside a door with some sort of a pink swirling pattern painted on.

"This is the Guildmaster's Chamber," The parrot explained, "You will have to speak with him to become apprentices at our guild. On no account, I repeat, on no account should you be discourteous to the Guildmaster. Treat him with nothing but the utmost respect."

"Guildmaster!" the parrot announced as he opened the door, "It's Chatot, We've found some new apprentices!"

Martian and Scarlett followed the overly cheerful flying type into the office only to find themselves with a Wigglytuff sitting behind a desk with its back turned towards them, eating something.

"Uh, Guildmaster?" Chatot repeated. The pink pokemon froze when it realized it was caught eating and silently tried to hide the apple without turning around.

" **HIYA!"**

Scarlett nearly jumped out of her fur when the Guildmaster shouted out loud as he jumped and turned around, starting to dance behind his desk. Martian groaned as he slowly facepalmed, concluding that the place was very ridiculous.

"I'm Wigglytuff! Guildmaster of the world famous Wigglytuff Guild!" The pink pokemon introduced himself as he continued to dance in place without a care in the world. "You two darlings want to become an exploration team right?"

"Y-yes, that's why we're here," Scarlett admitted, still trying to wrestle her heart back under control.

"Well, the let's hop to it. Yep! Yep! Yep!" Wigglytuff stated, "First we will have to register both of your names and your team's name!"

"Scarlett and Martian." The vulpix listed off, "Wait, we needed a team name too? I- I didn't think of that."

"The Wardens." Martian stated plainly, "A warden is another word for protector or guardian, someone who fends off, or wards off those who bear ill will."

Scarlett fell in love with the name as soon as it left her partner's mouth. It sounded so heroic, so mysterious, so strong and unmistakeable, like Martian himself. It was perfect.

"Okie-Dokie! I'll register you two as Scarlett and Martian of Team Wardens!" Wigglytuff sang before he started dancing again, turning around over and over. "Registering! Registering! Registering! All Registered!"

"YOOM. . .TAH!" The guildmaster exclaimed as he jumped up at the end of his little dance. "From this point onward, you two, Scarlett and Martian are an official Exploration Team! Team Wardens!"

"Really?" Scarlett asked in amazement, that fire burning in her eyes.

"Yep Yep Yep!" The Guildmaster assured, before dropping a chest onto his desk "And I present this to you in congratulations! Go on, Open it!"

Scarlett wasted no time opening the present, unable to get her muzzle under the lid and into the goodies stored inside any faster. Martian took a moment to chuckle before walking up to the chest to inspect its contents.

Inside the two discovered a small pile of blank badges, some notes, and a large over the shoulder style bag. Inside the bag, they discovered a small handful of Pecha and Oran berries stored alongside a large rolled up scroll of some sort. Scarlett was absolutely giddy with joy.

"These badges are placeholders until your official ones come by courier," Chatot explained. "The Treasure bag is standard issue and used by most Exploration teams, but since you both won't be able to carry it without dragging it through the mud, You will have to visit Beautifly's shop in town to acquire a suitable replacement."

"Don't forget your Wonder Map! It's a wonder of convenience!" Wigglytuff interrupted pointing out the rolled up parchment. "The berries in the Treasure Bag are yours to use courtesy of the Guild, be sure to use them wisely!"

"Yes, well I believe that covers everything. . ." Chatot mumbled, a little irked at getting interrupted, "You two should head into town and get familiar with it. Find out where all the shops and businesses are." The parrot continued pulling out two of the notes in the chest, "Take these and give them to Beautifly when you go there, It will tell her that she can forward the charges to the guild."

"Alright!" Scarlett agreed happily accepting the notes. "Come on Martian Let's do our Best!"


	5. Getting Started

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Five: Getting Started**

What started out as a crossroads and a watering hole had prospered and grown over the years into a wildly successful trade center that came to be known as Treasure Town. Thanks in large part to its ideal location, linking three major roads and the sea, it was almost guaranteed that any Pokemon traveling any long distance would at least visit the settlement if not to stop and rest. All that traffic and commerce made Treasure Town the unofficial capital of the region.

But as far as Scarlett was concerned, Treasure Town's reputation failed to prepare her for the true size of the settlement now that she had seen it in person. Even from atopt the hill that the Guild's entrance stood upon, she could see the dozens of buildings and tents that housed the innumerable Pokemon that lived and worked there. It was awe inspiring.

By the time that the newly formed Wardens actually entered the main marketplace, Scarlett was already distracted by all the bright and cheerful colors from the hanging banners and signs, the expressively painted market stalls lined with beautifully dyed rugs, even the stones used to pave the main paths seemed to pop out with lively shades of red and yellow. Everything just looked so upbeat and happy, it was hard not to be swept up by the air of positivity and joy.

. . . Until of course, Scarlett realised that Martian was giving her an annoyed look. Then again this was the fourth or maybe even the fifth time she got sidetracked by the sights so it wasn't like she didn't deserve it, especially since she promised him she wouldn't get distracted again, twice.

The luxio relented, softening his gaze. He understood that his partner was fascinated by the new environment they were in, and that her curiosity and sense of wonder would tempt her to wander off. Truth be told he wouldn't mind getting to know Treasure Town better, poke around a bit and see what there was, but still, right now there were other matters they needed to prioritize first.

Before the apprentices left the Guild, Martian took the opportunity to double check the Starter's Kit for anything else he could use. Sure enough, among the coupon notes in the bottom of the chest, he found a basic checklist of names and businesses to check out.

The Apprentices' first stop was Beautifly's shop, Beautifly worked as a tailor, crafting tough, reliable apparel for Pokemon of various sizes and forms, or ornate and beautiful clothes and accessories if that was what the customer desired. It took a little over an hour for the three to agree on the pattern, materials, and any special additions the apprentices wanted. After double checking her measurements, Beautifly dismissed the team telling them to return later in the evening to pick up the finished apparel.

After that first stop, Martian and Scarlett began to run through the checklist and find out what else the town had to offer. The Kecleon Market, run by two of the chameleon pokemon, served as a general store. They sold the bare necessities like apples, water flasks, and some medicinal berries at really great prices. If you wanted to buy more specialized items, like orbs, or elixirs, however, the Kecleon brothers were more then happy to point you in the right direction to someone who would have it.

The Appraiser was unfortunately closed for the day, leaving a note about the owner being sick or something like that. Hopefully whenever it reopens the appraiser could judge the worth of any unidentified treasure the team could bring back.

Bayleaf and her sister Chikorita made their living by growing and selling various berries for purchase despite recent hardship on the family. Oran Berries were a staple of any civilized pokemon's existence and Pecha berries were the go-to antidote for most poisons. Right away Martian could tell that the Wardens were going to do a lot of business here.

On the other hand, Duskull Bank was one place Martian knew he wasn't going to do any business. The so-called banker tried to convince him to open an account right away but once Martian started asking questions about how the floating skull made a profit, the luxio's trust vanished in an instant. If an exploration team unexpectedly went missing for three weeks and no relative or acquaintance arrived to claim ownership, their account would be terminated and all of their savings were the ghost type's to keep.

Not gonna happen, not to this Exploration Team. . .

Delcatty, thankfully, ran a far more clean business, both metaphorically and literally. Martian opened an account with her for the team after he finished reading the contract that explained everything that happened with their money. Far more honest and professional than her longtime business rival.

Hippopotas made his living as a glassblower, turning sand into glass with a brick furnace before blowing the glass into finished products like little glass bottles and window panes. A few glass bottles were a wise addition to any exploration team's supplies. Ideal for carrying elixirs or other important fluids. The ground-type's stall was ideally located next to Shuckle the alchemist's. Shuckle sold elixirs, a specially brewed drink that could restore a pokemon's ability to use certain moves.

Golduck made his living crafting and selling pottery to exploration teams. By themselves, the ceramic shells didn't do much, but fill it with a variaty of different payloads and an impact sensitive explosive core and you had small yet versatile bombs. Poison and Sleep Powder, as well as Stun Spore were some of the more common payloads, though there were lots of more exotic kinds of pots out there.

Clamperl and Alakazam worked together as partners in order to produce and sell Orbs. Similar to seeds, orbs were a powerful tool in an exploration team's hands able to temporarily manipulate the weather or even influence the minds of any hostile pokemon nearby into thinking that the user is invisible or attacking their own allies. Clamperl would produce pearls and Alakazam would use his powers to turn said pearls into finished products. It would be nice to have a few orbs handy no doubt, but the prices the two asked for hurt more than a Rampardos to the gut.

There was only one last stop the apprentices needed to make before going back to Beautifly. A proper combat trainer. It was something that Martian added to the list himself because as good of a reputation the Guild might have, he wasn't going to risk Scarlett's life or his own in battle until he was convinced they both were trained and prepared for the trials of combat the best they could be.

The dojo was fairly bland in appearance from the outside, mostly unsightly colors of solidly packed dirt and wood. Martian smiled, this place was built strong enough to withstand punishment, a very good sign. The entryway was covered by a net of vines meant to keep sunlight out of the dojo, blocking out a distraction so people could better train inside. The electric lion parted the net and held it open for Scarlett. The kitsune, despite being nervous about this place accepted the gesture and entered.

The first thing Scarlett registered after that was a loud war cry from a Machoke. The same Machoke that was making a beeline for her with a fully charged Focus Punch. The terrified vulpix froze in place eyes locked onto the glowing fist as the rest of the world seemed to vanish into darkness. . .


	6. Not Worthy

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Six: Not Worthy**

The absolute moment Martian registered imminent danger the entire world seemed to freeze in place as a large part of his missing memory returned like a mighty deluge. Discipline, stances, guards, counters, parries, and striking, it all came rushing back. It was almost as if the instincts flowed through his veins, tensing every muscle in his body as the world seemed to change before his eyes.

Okay, so the world didn't actually change, but how he saw it did. Now he was thinking as a veteran warrior, nothing looked the same. Martian looked at the charging Machoke and only three words came into thought.

Threat. Engage. Neutralize.

The former human dug his claws into the dirt to maximize his traction as a mighty war cry ascended up his throat. Time sprang back to normal and instinct took over. . .

Scarlett knew she didn't stand a chance against the fighting type's destructive power. There was nowhere she could run, nothing she could do to get out of the way of the attack. All she could do was curl up into a ball and hope that Protect would be strong enough to stand up to the punishment. Like a weak coward.

The vulpix had just managed to cover up her vulnerable belly and neck under the temporary safety of the spherical barrier, closing her eyes and concentrating desperately on maintaining the shield when she felt a presence use her Protect as a platform to jump off of. Even if she didn't see it, she definitely felt the clash of attacks and war cries followed almost immediately by a thud on the ground.

When the timid fire type finally gave into her curiosity and looked around, she froze in awe at the sight of the machoke slammed to the ground with the wind completely knocked out of him with a very serious looking luxio standing on his chest.

The blue electric type withdrew from atop his opponent's chest putting himself between the fighting and the fire types before using his claw to carve a deep and unmistakable line in the packed dirt floor. The message was just as unmistakable.

 _This ends here. I will not back down._

There was a brief pause in the fight while the Machoke got back on his feet and reevaluated the situation. Admittedly when he attacked he assumed that the vulpix was alone, he wasn't expecting the luxio at all so when the electric type attacked he was caught off guard. One mistake he wouldn't make again.

The fighting type took a step back to make sure he was only fighting two opponents, that there wasn't a third waiting to jump him again. Convinced, he turned his attention to the vulpix to assess her before scoffing and rolling his eyes at the sight of the fragile little thing shaking on the floor under a flimsy Protect. Easy pickings once he dealt with the Luxio.

Said luxio was a far more formidable opponent. The way he stood and the way his eyes tracked the Machoke's every move were clear signs of experience. The little electric type wasn't lacking in confidence either, growing fiercely as he stood his ground giving no visible sign of weakness or fear. There was something not right about the electric type, something different, something out of place, something almost feral but disciplined.

Martian's mind was also hard at work assessing his opponent and the situation. He had managed to get in a preemptive attack when he tackled the fighting type head on but has since lost the element of surprise. He knew that his opponent was an opportunist and would not hesitate to fight dirty and that as a fighting type he possessed lots of stamina and raw strength. One good hit would be enough to put Martian out of the fight with a really good chance of breaking a few ribs or a leg.

But he was much smaller than his opponent and had far more control of his own balance and momentum, key factors that could help him in the fight. He also remembered that the ribs, back of the knees and under the shoulders were common weak points on a humanoid opponent. His best chance is to use his speed and mobility to upset the fighting type's center of balance, knock him to the floor and hit those weak spots as hard as he could.

The Machoke threw the first punch, another Focus Punch. The time for thinking was over, now all Martian could do was react.

Incoming right handed punch. Dive under it.

The attack managed to graze through the very tips of the fur on Martian's back, but ultimately overshot the former human who rolled to his feet now located behind the Machoke's back. In perfect position to jump on and start upsetting the Fighting Type's balance. The Machoke had anticipated such an attack, but his backhand lashed out too early striking nothing but thin air, leaving nothing to protect his chest that was now facing the Electric Type. While not what he had anticipated, Martian was quick to take advantage lunging again for the Machoke's neck, not to draw blood, but something he could apply his momentum to.

The former human managed to wrap his front legs around the Machoke's neck, letting his momentum swing him around. The fighting type's legs wanted to keep going forward towards Scarlett, his missed backhand wanted to keep going clockwise around his body, and now the luxio hanging by his neck pulling him backwards, he never had a chance of keeping his center of balance as his body rotated with his arm and landed on the floor face first again with Martian on top of him.

With a quick roar, Martian struck at the Machoke's side, aiming to crack a rib. He was surprised when his claw became enveloped with electricity but still managed to connect the blow, His first Thunder Punch.

The Machoke did not like that, easily throwing the electric type off his back when he jumped up in pain. Martian hit the ground and rolled a few times before he was able to find enough footing to land on his feet. Flipping through dirt and rocks like that was not pleasant.

Now it was the Machoke's turn to go on the offense, charging the former human while bending down to scoop up a handful of pebbles to lob at the Electric type. Martian raised a paw to shield his eyes as the small rocks pelted him, sure they hurt but they were not a truly damaging attack.

The follow-up Karate chop on the other hand definitely did a number on him. The Machoke managed to land it perfectly on Martian's head, right between the eyes. Right away his vision blurred and his ears started ringing as overwhelming pain drowned out all other senses. His blurred vision started to go black as his body began to go limp without the strength to even stand up.

The Machoke smiled in satisfaction as the luxio fell to the ground on the verge of fainting, his eyes were lost staring at the ceiling. The fighting type was confident that victory was his all he had to do was one last move and then the little electric lion would be in the infirmary for weeks, why not have some fun doing it?

With a laugh the fighting type scooped up the limp luxio before holding him by the armpits, hopping in place a little to get some bounce going the fighting type launched himself in the air before beginning a Seismic Toss. His favorite way of finishing a fight.

The darkness grew threatening to overtake his entire field of vision as his ears kept ringing, but thankfully the pain was starting to 's when Martian realized he was moving, spinning to be precise and he doubted it was a good sign. He began to feel the blood flowing through his body again, like filling empty bags with water until they bulge.

That wasn't good enough, he needed strength to keep fighting, not slobs of mass hanging from his body! He needed to fight! A fresh rush of adrenaline began to flow through his body, he began to feel solid bone in his limbs again, his claws, his muscles solidifying, the darkness left his vision but it wasn't enough.

 _No,_ Martian told himself, _I am going to FIGHT!_

A single twitch from one of his paw's digits, and he could feel a pulse of energy radiate throughout his body from within. Now he felt his strength back and better than ever as his vision cleared instantly as a new warcry began to build in his throat.

The Machoke smirked at the helpless victim in his hands as he kept spinning, building up as much momentum as he could before landing the final blow. The fighting type looked down at the ground for a moment to see how high he jumped when he felt the electric type's body tense up in his hands. When he checked to see what was going on he froze: The luxio was looking right back at him almost as good as new and five times more angry. Suddenly, keeping the electric type at arm's length didn't seem like a very good idea.

Martian was quick to show why discharging a devastating amount of power directly through the fighting type's limbs before knocking himself free with a headbutt. The fighting type's grip vanished as the two fighters began to fall back to the ground. Martian began to growl as the tip of his tail began to adapt a metallic sheen to it turning as hard as steel and as heavy as lead. The Machoke hit the ground first on his back, dazed and battered but just managed to open his eyes wide in shock as a roaring Luxio twisted in midair and landed the final blow with a terrifying Iron Tail. The force of which enveloped the two combatants in a cloud of dust.

"Martian!" Scarlett coughed, trying to get some of the dust out of her eyes as she ran into the dirt cloud looking for her partner. She was beginning to feel like dead weight, the moment she felt threatened she cowered and used Protect to try and shield herself. Martian, though, just went in no problem fighting a much larger opponent. Heck, Scarlett could swear Martian looked like he was e _njoying it!_

No duh, He was a natural fighter, even without his own memories he held his own in a fight with a fighting type Pokemon for quite some time. He even took a direct blow to the head and managed to regain his senses in seconds! He was a true fighter, not a weak, fragile, petite fool with dreams of delusion like her. Martian was everything she was not.

The electric type's victory cry almost made the poor vulpix jump out of her fur as he boldly proclaimed victory over his opponent from within the dust cloud. Emerging proud and strong, head high and lungs full of air, Martian revealed briefly in his accomplishment, taking a moment to examine his paw and a few bolts of electricity arcing from it.

That's when Scarlett lowered her head in shame again, there was no way they could stay together. He was born for an exploration team but she was merely a burden. He didn't deserve her.

"Goodbye," The fire type muttered before turning for the exit. She was about to pass through when a stampede of Pokemon came flooding in surrounding the Electric type, ecstatic about something. It didn't matter, she was on her own again and silently slipped out of the dojo before her former partner could notice. . .


	7. What in the?

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Seven: What in the?**

Martian was quick to notice Scarlett's absence from the newly formed crowd inside the dojo, most of the new arrivals either insulted the fallen Machoke or praise the electric type for teaching the bully a solid lesson no one else could. A few Pokemon finally decided to drag the broken bully to the clinic for a long and painful recovery, just like the ones he put a lot of others into.

Getting through the crowd somewhat politely took the former human a lot longer than he would have liked, giving his partner a ten to fifteen minute head start to go somewhere and blame herself for being weak.

That was ten to fifteen minutes too long for his liking, especially when he found Scarlett's temporary badge on the ground just outside. The luxio picked up the discarded pin in his paw mentally hitting himself in the head as he let out a slow growl. There was no way he'd be able to find her now.

That's when he got a headache and the world seemed to lose focus, like a sudden case of motion sickness until he saw Scarlett.

Except she was blue and transparent like a ghost, or a memory.

The ghost Scarlett emerged from the dojo lowering her head in shame, trying to hold back a few tears as she unpinned her badge from her scarf and dropped it onto the ground in the spot Martian found it. The ghost gave one final look back before muttering goodbye one last time and leaving headed for the cliffs overlooking the sea.

And just as bizarre and abrupt as they appeared, the visions ended, leaving the former human behind to try and make sense out of what he just witnessed. He could tell almost immediately that it wasn't some sort of Psychic illusion or attack, no, the visions seemed to radiate some sort of primal energy the scale of which put any Psychic type's powers to complete and utter shame.

As much as it frustrated him, Martian accepted the fact that he didn't know what just happened to him and that it was too early to come to a conclusion. All he could do was trust his gut and trust in what the vision showed him until he learned more, if he ever did.

At least there was a silver lining he could be thankful for, he knew which way Scarlett went. He had her trail. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

The scarf wearing vulpix laid atop a formation on the cliff overlooking the Great Sea, taking refuge in the soothing trance of the clashing waves below and the cool, salty breeze above until her sobs ceased. Sure she still felt entirely lost, but at least she had stopped crying. Still, the lack of a path forward, the lack of a potential future kept digging away at her self-worth. Why was it that whenever she had a chance at making something of herself she always cut the ties and ran away? Worse, she had cut ties with the only other Pokemon that accepted her other than her mother. Martian didn't deserve that, he didn't deserve the disappointment she left him with, at least he had a bunch of new friends now.

"Quite the view isn't it? Nothing but water until the horizon."

The familiar voice caught Scarlett off guard but she refrained from jumping, choosing instead to move her head so that she was looking away from him. Part of her hoped that he'd take the hint and leave her alone but, but the other part hoped that he would stay with her.

Sighing at her response Martian laid down next to her before continuing. Maybe if he could get that curious mind of her's to return to focusing on wonder and adventure rather than her own shortcomings, the rest of her would follow.

"I guess I take that back, nothing is ever really limited to "Until the horizon," That's just as far as we know, but what's beyond that? What's beyond the horizon? Or the horizon after that?" Martian asked, waiting for Scarlett's response but sighed again when she only replied with more silence.

"I owe you an apology." The former human admitted. Even though she stayed silent Martian knew he had her attention, her ear twitched, she was listening.

"I was so eager to get started, to get out there and do good work, fight for the right cause I never stopped to question if you were ready to fight. I just assumed you were as good as me but looking back, I don't know why I even thought that." The luxio confessed.

"Because I'm so weak and pathetic?" Scarlett whispered, still refusing to look at him.

"No, because I've had training, I have practice and experience you don't. Granted those were in a human body and not. . . Well, not this." Martian admitted gesturing to his new form, "But the instincts are still the same. That's the main difference between us Scarlett, and if you'd let me I will be more then happy to correct that mistake."

"How?" Scarlett asked, starting to entertain the thought.

"Probably a lot of talks and practice in the dojo," Martian shrugged, "I'll try to talk you into the right frame of mind, teach you how to read your instincts and environment, how to think, how to act. We'll try to put all of that together in the dojo through sparing and more physical training. Besides, I might need some practice myself to get used to fighting in this body. I honestly have no clue how I used Thunderclaw and Thunderbolt back there, gonna need some practice to work out the kinks."

Scarlett let out the softest chuckle she could as she finally turned her head to look at him.

"Do you think this will work?"

"We won't know until we try."

The vulpix immediately felt no small amount of weight dissipate from her body as she rolled onto her side, resting her head on Martian's leg. There was something, wonderful about the fact that even though she gave up on herself, he never did.

"You're gonna need this," Martian stated after a few seconds of letting Scarlett rest her head on him before presenting her temporary badge, slightly crumpled from when he held it in his fist, but still intact.

"My badge!" Scarlett exclaimed as she reattached it to her scarf before pausing for a moment before addressing Martian.

"How did you find me?"

The electric type only groaned in utter frustration, "I have no idea. . ."


	8. The First Job

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Eight: The First Job**

It was well into the night when Scarlett sighed again, laying her head on her paws as she looked up at the full moon overhead. The ghostly white circle hung suspended along with the faint twinkling stars up in that night sky, almost calling to her, beckoning the vulpix to explore its mysteries. Yet at the same time, the soft glow overhead sang it's silent lullaby convincing her stress and worries to simply leave her body like how a Hoothoot's feather silently rides the winds.

With her eyelids growing heavy as she gave a final yawn before curling up again and surrendering to the night's songs of slumber, but not before catching sight of a shooting star against the black of the night. Silently wishing for good health and fortune for herself and her partner moments before she was asleep.

A few minutes later and the vulpix was sighing, almost moaning contently in her sleep as her chest rose and fell with each deep breath.

It was something that made her partner quietly chuckle and grin. Convinced that his teammate was sleeping soundly rather than nervously like she had the night before, Martian withdrew his attention and started to control his breathing, soon asleep himself. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

Scarlett was almost in a panic as she scrambled out into the main chamber to be there for the morning address in time. The other guild members were already present including Martian who silently gestured with his paw to calm down and take a few deep breaths.

 **"HUMPH! YOUR LATE ROOKIES!"** A purple pokemon shouted at her and Martian, causing the other guild members around him to recoil at the sudden outburst.

"Do Hush!" Chatot immediately chastised the loudmouth, "Your voice is ridiculously loud!"

 **"LOUD?"** The agitated pokemon snapped back, **"I'M A LOUDRED SIR, IT'S WHAT WE DO!"**

"Ah Shut up." Martian finally spoke up, and Scarlett shivered when the room fell silent as every pair of eyes were locked onto her and Martian in disbelief. The following silence did nothing to soften the blank stares.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm startin' to like these kids!" The water type chuckled finally breaking the tense standoff. Some of the other guild members quietly mumbled their agreement, finally giving Scarlett a chance to let out her held breath. What a relief.

". . . Alright then, everyone seems to be in attendance." Chatot hesitantly announced before going back to his overly cheerful manner, "Very well! Let us conduct our morning address!"

"Guildmaster, the guild is in full attendance!" The colorful bird announced as he turned to the door leading to the pink pokemon's office before turning back to face the crowd.

The wooden door opened, and the pokemon in charge stumbled out swaying in every direction before stopping just behind Chatot. Martian solidly smacked himself in the face with his paw in frustration. How was he expected to respect someone who acted drunk and delusional all the time?

"Thank you Guildmaster," Chatot continued, "Pease address the crew."

. . .

. . .

"Guildmaster?" Chatot finally turned around once he realized something was amiss.

The pink Fairy-Type stood up with his eyes open but maintained a slouched posture as some drool dripped from his mouth. The great Guildmaster Wigglytuff was sleepwalking on the job. What a joke.

It seemed that Martian wasn't the only one with such opinions judging by the rest of the guild's members gossiping among themselves.

"Uh, well uh," Chatot stuttered before attempting to play it off, "Thank you for your uh. . . Words of Wisdom!"

Nobody bought the act.

"Well, ah. . ." The bird stuttered again before jumping back into his overly cheerful persona again, "Let us not forget the morning cheers! All together now!"

"ONE! DON'T SHIRK WORK!"

"TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY!"

"THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!"

"Okay Pokemon! Get to work!" Chatot instructed before the rest of the guild members cheered and disbanded, leaving Martian and Scarlett behind.

"Alright you two, you're just beginners so follow me," Chatot ordered the young Wardens as he lead them upstairs and to a bulletin board filled with notices and all manners of requests.

"This is the Job Board, I assume you two know that there has been an increasingly amount of hostilities recently?" Chatot asked casually as if it didn't mean anything.

"Yes, I think," Scarlett replied, "It's because time is getting messed up, a lot more Pokemon are getting aggressive, almost feral."

 _"Time"_

 _"Feral"_

Martian could feel two sharp intrusions upon his forgotten memory at the mention of those two words in context. Something was important about those two words, something almost all consuming. Why couldn't he remember!

"Exactly," Chatot continued to explain, "Something odd is happening with the flow of time, as a result there has been a sudden increase of Feral Pokemon and criminal activities, resulting in an equal increase of jobs and requests. And, while we don't know if they are related or not, we have also seen an increase of Mystery Dungeon outbreaks."

"Mystery dungeons? As in locations that randomly change their own layout and serve as homes to feral Pokemon?" Martian asked, "Risky to enter due to the chance of getting injured or killed in battle or going feral yourself if unprepared, but provide a near constant supply of food, resources, and coin?"

"Why, correct!" Chatot confirmed, surprised on how well informed the rookie was, "While not all jobs do, most of the requests we receive require Exploration Teams to enter Mystery Dungeons to complete a certain objective. Let's see here, which one should we give you. . ." The bird drifted off examining the various requests.

"Perhaps this one? It's about your speed." Chatot suggested as he removed a paper and handed it to the young Wardens

 _To any Exploration team,_

 _My name is Spoink, about three days ago I was mugged by a robber who got away with my most important possession: My beautiful Pearl! You must understand that I can't live without that Pearl, it is life itself to me! I don't know how much longer I can go without it. I just received great news that the robber who stole it from me was captured and arrested, but sadly he no longer had my pearl on his person. I heard that the thief had a stash hidden on a bluff not too far from Treasure Town. I would try and search for it myself but the bluff is a Mystery Dungeon and I dare not risk myself in such a dangerous place._

 _Would you kindly dear readers search the bluff for the thief's stash and bring back my dear Pearl if it's there? Please proceed with every bit of haste._

 _Spoink,_

"Wait a minute." Scarlett realized as she reread the request before getting angry, "Are you seriously going to send us on a wild goose chase into a mystery dungeon for a pearl that might not even be there? I was hoping for something a little more, adventurous, finding treasure or something! Not clean up after some thief!"

"Quiet!" Chatot snapped, making Scarlett jump, "You rookies need to learn your place! This is your assignment for the day whether you like it or not."

"We need to Scarlett," Martian sighed, "I don't think a Spoink will be able to survive without its pearl for more than a few days. If we do this, we might just save a life."

"I didn't know," Scarlett shamefully admitted.

"Well, why are you still standing here!" Chatot demanded as he pushed the fire type towards the stairs going up, "Get, get get!"


	9. Drenched Bluff

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Nine: Drenched Bluff**

"Hold up, We're here," Martian announced as the duo approached the dark entrance to the labyrinth of a Mystery Dungeon hidden away upon the narrow rocky path that was subject to frequent sprays of salt water as the unruly waves crashed into the cliff below.

"Whoever set up shop here knew what they were doing, it wouldn't take much to defend this place from multiple attackers." Martian thought out loud, before shielding his face as another wave of mist bombarded him. He was starting to remember why he hated the ocean, way too much salt.

"I'll take the lead," The former human instructed, "Follow me and provide support but don't go off picking fights. Support, watch, and learn for now."

Scarlett quickly, but silently nodded. All of the sudden she didn't feel so good like she ate something that didn't agree with her, something that was twisting and pulling in her gut. But at the same time, she began to feel her paws and tails shaking and twitching, no longer able to stay still any longer. Whatever they were, she couldn't address them she just had to focus on Martian. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

The Mystery Dungeon's interior wasn't the nicest, mostly hard uneven gray stone and shallow pools of water. Occasionally the Wardens would run into a large stalagmite pillar they had to walk around, all while listening to the faint dripping of water from the ceiling. So far the only Pokemon the duo ran into yet were two Shelos who quickly fled rather than stay and fight.

The local Anorith however, were far more willing to attack the outsiders, usually by lying in wait in one of the many shallow pools and ambushing their targets with their two powerful pincers.

Another one of the Shrimp Pokemon shot out of the water on Martian's left with a charged X-scissor attack intent on cutting the electric type's side wide open. Martian never gave him the chance.

In one fluid motion Martian rolled onto his right side while grabbing the attacker by the face and flipped him over as he rolled back onto his feet slamming the Anorith's bony shell into the ground hard leaving him belly up, exposed and unable to retaliate.

A swift follow up Thunder Punch, and the shrimp stopped flailing and snapping his pincers, knocked out by the Luxio's attack. Yet another fight that Martian won in almost no time at all, and Scarlett was starting to see why:

It was all about controlling momentum and using it to your favor, striking at the right angles, using the environment to your advantage and turning your enemy's actions against them.

Another Anorith cut the Wardens off a little while later, but once he saw how large his opponent was he started having second thoughts. The rock/bug type-pokemon started to nervously walk backwards until a Shelos and a Chingling showed up and reinforced him. Now outnumbering the outsiders, the three hostile pokemon regained their courage and advanced, trying to force the Wardens back into a narrow corridor.

Martian didn't give them any ground, instead, he extended his claws to anchor himself to the floor as he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. . .

The Luxio's roar was almost as loud as it was confident and courageous, echoing across the damp caves and throughout the dungeon. Asserting his dominance over the three hostiles, making it clear he was more than capable of taking them on.

It backfired.

It backfired allot.

Hostile Pokemon began to pile into the room behind the first three or took to the pools of water nearby. Now instead of having to fight three at once, the Wardens had to defeat three dozen hostile Pokemon all at once.

Martian didn't even flinch, if he was afraid of the horrible turn of events that now faced him, he wasn't going to let them see it.

But more surprisingly, Scarlett didn't flinch either. A fact that deep down terrified her, here she was about to get overrun by a horde of wild Pokemon and there was no way out. By all means, she should be terrified by now, running away as fast as she could or hide curled up under Protect. So why was she actually looking forward to this?

Because she was no longer a coward,

Not anymore.

Everyone stood silent for a few long moments, waiting for their opponents to make the first move or run away. It was almost like everyone was frozen in place unable to move. At least that was until Martian turned his head to check on his partner. The vulpix silently nodded as her chest began generating heat. Scarlett wasn't going to run, not this time.

Martian briefly grinned as he nodded back to his partner before turning to face the small army in front of him.

He charged right into the thick of the mob, teeth, and claws bared and charged.

The result was chaos. Clearly the defenders never actually thought that the luxio would be crazy enough to try and fight them all head on, and panicked as the continued to back up into each other, constricting themselves of any room to maneuver.

One Lileep tried to stand its ground and tried to catch the electric-type with its tentacles but only managed to pull Martian's Metal Claw right into its own face effectively knocking himself out and giving Martian the extra momentum to turn mid-air and hit another Shelos with an Iron Tail as he landed

Iron tail was quickly becoming his favorite move.

A Chingling managed to get free and turned to face the Luxio, eyes turning blue as it prepared a Confusion attack. . .

But Scarlett's Ember broke the little Physic type's focus, stopping the attack and buying time for the Fire Type to get in close and finish knocking it out with a tackle.

Martian spared a moment to acknowledge her save with a quick nod before discharging arcs of electricity at the remaining opponents who were starting to spread out.

The arcs jumped between them as they cried out in pain before they each kissed one of Martian's claws or tail while Scarlett hanged back, firing volleys of Ember attacks.

The fight was over as fast as it began with over twenty wild pokemon lying defeated around the chamber. Scarlett took a deep breath as she looked at her team's handiwork amazed at how they emerged relatively unharmed but stronger, faster, and more experienced. That felt _so_ good.

The fire type jumped when Martian surprised her by placing his paw on her shoulder to see if she was okay. Her grin and that alive look in her eyes gave him his answer.

"You did good Scarlett, really good." The luxio complemented as he patted her on the shoulder before turning towards the final parts of the dungeon, "We still got a job to do. If there's a stash here, it will be just up ahead."

 _You did good Scarlett, really good._

Those six words meant everything to the vulpix, how long had she secretly dreamed of hearing those exact words from an explorer? Who cared! It just happened! The fire type stood frozen in disbelief for a second replaying the same words over and over in her mind before squealing giddily with joy as she ran to catch up to her partner.

Martian could only chuckle, _that_ was the kind of treasure he was hoping to find throughout his career. . .

. . . Then again, lots of gold coin and valuable items was a nice find too.

A small chest sat against the back wall, some coin and various seeds spilling out of it. While the coin and the seeds were a nice find, the single pink pearl subtly vibrating with radiant physic energy was definitely the real prize.

"We can just take the chest back with us," Scarlett suggested, looking at all the gold coin with fascination.

"Looks like you got to go find treasure after all," Martian chuckled as he collected the pink sphere, "We can come back later to get the rest of it, grab what you can carry and let's go."

Scarlett nodded before scooping up a handful of coin and dumping it into a small coin purse held in a pocket in her scarf before taking off after her partner before she stopped in realization.

She and Martian had cleared a Mystery Dungeon, something she had dreamed of doing for years. She was finally able to work up the courage, skill, and strength to do something she had previously cowardly ran from.

Scarlett was changing into someone else entirely,

and enjoying every moment of it.


	10. Now I am

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Ten: Now I am**

"Still can't get this cursed sea salt out of my fur," Martian complained as he shook again trying to dislodge the uncomfortable clumps of the stuff from his body. So far, he wasn't having much luck getting the salt out, much to his increasing frustration.

At least they made it back to the Guild and reported their success to Chatot. The Flying type took the pearl and instructed them to head inside and wait outside the Guildmaster's office for payment and debriefing. So here they were, waiting.

At least Scarlett was in high spirits, it was like the salt in her fur didn't bother her at all, only the fact that they won, that they completed the job and emerged stronger at the end. She just stood there looking out the window smiling at the beautiful sight as she embraced the minor breeze from outside. That made Martian smirk with pride.

The first clue Chatot had returned was when Loudred perked up and headed upstairs to open the gate up top to let someone in. After a few seconds, Chatot flew downstairs followed by the owner of the pearl.

"Apprentice Martian, Apprentice Scarlett," Chatot introduced, "This is Spoink, your client. She wished to thank and pay you in person."

"Ma'am," Martian greeted respectively, "Glad to see you up and about with your pearl again. It's my understanding that your kind don't live for very long without it."

"Yes all the more reason I'm overjoyed to have it back," Spoink confirmed, "While a Spoink's pearl is our most beautiful possession we actually need it to focus our Psychic Energies to control our breathing and heartbeat subconsciously so we can move about and gather food and water. With the Pearl missing, we have to focus exclusively on our vital organs in order to keep them working."

"Rendering you immobile and unable to gather or consume food or water, meaning that you'd die of thirst and hunger if you don't get the Pearl back before them," Martian finished as he winced slightly at the thought of having such an easy weakness, "Sorry, sounds rough."

"All the more reason I wanted to thank you personally!" Spoink exclaimed as she hopped on her spring like tail, "I wanted to thank you in person for saving my life and pay you for your deed. Twenty thousand coin, you earned every last piece."

"Twe- Twenty thousand!?" Scarlett stuttered in absolute disbelief, "Twenty thousand coin! We could probably afford our own place in Treasure town with that! Are you serious?"

"Every last piece," The little Psychic type assured as she plopped the purse in front of Scarlett, "That amount is nothing compared to the importance of my Pearl, I can afford it. If you two ever find something on one of your adventures and not sure what it is come see me at my place in town. I'm the appraiser around here, my door's always open for you two."

"Understood, we'll be sure to run any sort of artifacts we come across by you." The luxio agreed, "Let us know if you ever need help again, we'll do what we can."

"You'll be the first names I'll ask for." Spoink promised as she started bouncing in place building up momentum, "I need to leave now and get back to work, so see you two later. And thank you again for saving my life."

After that, with her pearl returned to it's perch atop her head, Spoink nodded goodbye before leaving the Guild. For a moment the room remained relatively silent as the apprentices took a few seconds to think about the events that just transpired.

"W-We did it?" Scarlett finally broke the silence asking out loud before she gasped in amazement and started jumping around, absolutely giddy with joy.

"That's it! We did it! We did it Martian! Twenty Thousand coin! Ha Ha!" The vulpix cheered triumphantly, "We're Rich!"

 _No it can't be that easy, there has got to be a catch here somewhere._ Martian warned himself, _That's way too much money to pay a couple nobodies like us, people don't pay large sums to the guys at the bottom._

"Well well, I must admit I didn't expect the two of you to make it through the dungeon so easily," Chatot complemented the duo, "Impressive work you two, now I'll take the coin."

Scarlett's heart plummeted as the parrot helped himself to the bulging coin purse.

"Really?" The vulpix barely managed to whisper, "After we worked so hard for it too."

"But of course!" Chatot cheerfully replied as he started counting the coins, "Your client hired you through the guild, and as per guild rules a fraction of the profit goes to the guild master! Meaning you two get to profit. . . About this much." The Parrot happily dropped a small pile of coins onto the ground.

"Ten percent?" Martian growled, "And after we did all the work, all-"

"Absolutely!" The parrot happily cut off the electric type, "And we expect just as much effort from you tomorrow!"

 _Keep it up Moneybags and I'll be looking forward to fried parrot for dinner._ Martian threatened in the back of his mind, fighting the ever increasing desire to unleashing all of his frustrations and making Chatot eat his own beak.

"Come on Scarlett, let's go back to town. Think it's time we took care of some stuff." Martian finally suggested after slowly exhaling to vent off his anger.

"Alright," the disheartened vulpix muttered softly before following the luxio out, dragging her tails, and her saddened heart, across the floor.

 **Wardens Eternal**

"Dodge!"

Scarlett jumped back, avoiding Martian's claw as it impacted the place she was less than a second before. The two were sparring in the Dojo, training, Martian attempting to teach his partner how to fight like he did himself. Aggressive, fierce, but smart.

The vulpix took only the shortest of moments to positively reflect at the fact she managed to dodge her mentor's strike. A moment too long, because as soon as his right paw, the one she dodged, touched the ground Martian's left paw lashed out in the manner of an uppercut. It would have easily nailed her in the neck and lower jaw if Martian hadn't halted it only an inch away from touching her scarf.

"Good job at evading my first attack, you just left yourself vulnerable to a follow up strike." Martian criticized, "Granted most non Fighting-Types probably won't use an immediate follow up attack, but it's still a single blow that could cost you the entire fight. So always be ready for it, it's better to be prepared for something that never happens rather then get caught off guard."

"R- Right." Scarlett stuttered as she realized just how close Martian was to tearing into her throat. Now of course he wouldn't actually do that, but someone else in the same position just might have.

The two continued to train and trade blows for about an hour, alternating between attacking and defending. Scarlett began to fight more instinctively, striking and countering faster then she could consciously follow. Her Ember attack, a volley of respectable but timid fireballs vanished. Instead, Scarlett found herself capable of unleashing a mighty Flamethrower of unimaginable heat and ferocity at will.

But best of all, Scarlett's roar. Before, any attempt the timid vulpix made to roar ended in a soft, cowardly squeak. Now, her cry for adventure and challenge rang loud and strong. Admittedly nowhere as strong as Martian's roars, but more than enough to express her growth from a coward to a warrior.

She might have had her doubts about living up to the name before, not worthy of calling herself one, but now she was.

Now she was a Warden. . .


	11. Uniforms

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Eleven: Uniforms**

"It looks good on you, really goes with your scarf and fur quite wonderfully."

Scarlett had to agree with Beautifly's compliments, her new vest really did complement the reds of her fur and her scarf nicely. It was a nice fit too, snug on her back but generous around her shoulders, preserving her full range of movement before hanging open over her belly. It wasn't just for looks though, a decent sized pocket had been sewn onto either side for carrying items. Scarlett couldn't reach in and take items in and out while it was still on her back, but considering how lightweight and easy to put on it was, she had no problems with having to take it off whenever she needed something.

Martian got something. . . Something a little different.

Martian's vest was heavy and bulky, solidly secured to his back, sides, and belly with thick straps. he had pockets on his sides too, but his were larger and tougher, meant for a lot more weight in addition to the satchel and straps on top of his back.

It may have been a hassle getting on, but once he got it on just right Martian began to almost grin at the feeling of the new weight on his body. He already was as solid as a tree and impressively larger than Scarlett before, but with the added bulk on his muscular frame he only seemed to grow larger. More powerful, more courageous, more steadfast, and maybe even a little more mysterious. . .

Scarlett couldn't help but blush at the thought.

 **Wardens Eternal**

The room was dark, almost pitch black save for the orb that glowed softly as it hovered alongside Scarlett and her partner. It seemed like they have been wading their way through knee high water for hours, the only sounds being the sloshing of the water and the echoes off of the cave's seemingly endless walls.

Movement.

The vulpix didn't even have a split second to heed the warning before the largest, and meanest Feraligatr she had ever seen lunged towards her with its terrible jaws splayed open, displaying all of its jagged and feral teeth. Thankfully they never got to touch her.

A powerful Iron Tail swung in from the side, smashing its way through the yellow stained fangs and sending shards of the bony points splashing all over around them as the blow sent the water type reptile reeling in pain.

Now it was her turn to use her own teeth. The red kitsune pounced onto the crocodile's back and bit as hard as she could with a Thunder Fang attack. (It was a good thing that Martian knew a thing or two about that move, otherwise, she'd never figure it out.)

The Big Jaw Pokemon roared in pain and began to thrash about, hoping to lose its unwanted passenger, it's tail collapsing a stone pillar in the process. When the vulpix finally released her opponent, the wounded opponent chose to cut its losses and flee, diving back into the shallow water and swimming away, a faint red trail from its jaw the only indication where it was going.

Scarlett rolled back onto her feet and turned to face Martian, nodding to show that she was fine. the Electric type returned the gesture before taking the lead up a few stone stairs to a pair of wooden doors. Teaming up to part the wooden barricade the two pushed until the rotting doors parted revealing a pedestal in the center of the next room.

A pedestal with nothing on it. Someone else had already taken the treasure and left. Or had they?

Scarlett's nose almost instantly registered the oily sent from the pedestal, revealing a small bowl in the center with the flammable liquid inside. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so she let out a small fireball.

The oil caught aflame illuminating the circular room in all its glory, legends upon legends carved into its walls for all eternity. Scarlett could hardly contain her excitement as she began to examine the tales of ancient heroes. This was history that the world had forgotten, and now she had brought it back for good. A great accomplishment.

Then the real victory began as a fuse that had been cleverly hidden alongside the stone pedestal caught fire and began to burn down the side of the stand and across the stone floor disappearing behind a tiny hole in the wall. . .

 _Clunk!_

The sound of some sort of heavy mechanism almost made Scarlett jump, but once part of the wall began to move with a heavy groan revealing another chamber her heart started beating faster all over again as she entered.

Another pedestal with oil, another small flame, and the fire burned across a channel to another pedestal, before branching to light two more, then another two, and another, and another, it just went on like that forever. Best part of all was the fact that all the fire danced across golden surfaces.

Treasure,

Treasure as far as the eye could see and seemingly beyond. Never before had anyone seen so much gold and wealth in one place, no one even knew this place was actually real! This was the greatest discovery in the history of exploration teams world wide! And she was the one who discovered it. It was impossible to comprehend anything that could possibly triumph over this achievement.

Scarlett was so much in awe that she almost stopped breathing taking in all of the treasure she had discovered before turning to her partner.

"Martian," Scarlett sighed, "There's no way I would have done this with-"

 **"UP AND AT EM, IT'S MORNING!"**

Scarlett jumped to her feet with a terrified screech at the sudden and loud awakening, her heart almost punching a hole in the dirt ceiling above her head as she panicked.

She was back at the guild in her room, alone. She could hear Martian's angry roars down the hall close behind Loudred's fleeing form. It sounded like the loudmouth Pokemon triggered Martian's fight or flight instinct when he startled the electric type awake.

Instantly devoid of all energy the vulpix collapsed back onto her bed and groaned as she curled up again. It wasn't real, as much as she tried to convince herself otherwise her heart wouldn't allow it. It wasn't real.

It wasn't real. . .

She really hated Mornings.


	12. The Ruins

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Twelve: The Ruins**

"You got us kicked out Martian," Scarlett chastised her partner as they made their way downhill to the crossroads, "We just got kicked out of the guild."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, I don't see why." Martian deadpanned, "We didn't go to the guild to join them originally remember? We came here to take a look at the jobs and missions available to all teams on the first floor but that was it."

"Yes, but they gave us a room, three meals a day if we wanted it, training and paid for our uniforms and gear. I just feel like a thief leaving them like this." Scarlett argued, the fact she was walking away wearing her new vest was starting to toy with her guilt.

"What Training?" The Blue Warden scoffed, "I was the one training you at the dojo on our own time. The guild didn't teach us anything that's going to help us do our jobs, nothing on how to fight, how to avoid traps, how to patch ourselves up, nothing."

"I. . . You're right, we didn't learn anything from them." The vulpix sighed, "But shouldn't we at least pay for our uniforms and stuff? We owe them that much."

"And they owe us like nineteen thousand coin." Martian reminded, "That's more than enough to repay our would be debts five times over. We're still getting the bad end of the deal here."

"But don't we have to stay until we've completed our training in order to be an official team?" Scarlett asked, "I mean, we can't be one without that apprenticeship right?"

"Official according to who? Chatot?" The luxio countered, "Once we prove that we can be relied on to do what needs to be done, People in their right minds won't care if we're on someone's official list that no one else ever reads or not."

Scarlett mentally scolded herself for being so naive and gullible, shamed at the fact that she had let herself be manipulated by Chatot so easily. She should have seen what was going on right away, after all she had seen her mother do it to other Pokemon dozens of times, she should have known the signs by now.

Maybe leaving the guild was for the best, but that left them with another problem. . .

"Where are we going to live Martian? We need someplace to call home."

Now it was Martian's turn to scold himself, of course they needed a shelter and a base of operations. While he knew he was used to sleeping in the harsh elements every night, it wouldn't be fair to his partner.

 _Home_

Martian froze in place. The word sounded, sour, in his mind. Strangely familiar but foreign at the same time, Had he had one before his memory loss?

The former human began to feel his amnesia partly tear as if it had been forcefully grinded between two stones. That's when he began to recall fragments of the memory, details, useless on their own but maybe. . .

 _Stone,_

 _Moss,_

 _Old,_

 _Brick,_

 _Damp,_

 _Torches,_

 _Doors,_

 _Wood,_

 _Minimalist,_

 _Metal._

 _Water,_

 _Running water,_

 _River,_

 _Trees,_

 _Forest,_

 _Falling,_

 _Falling forest? No, that can't be right,_

 _Falling. . . Falling what?_

The frustrated luxio slammed a paw into the ground with a low growl once he reached the crossroads. His ears instantly picked up the sound of something wooden to his left, and his entire head snapped to face the anomaly before he forced himself to calm down.

Just a Roselia dumping the water from the well into her own wooden pail, nothing to be worried about.

 _Wait!_

 _Falling water,_

 _A Waterfall._

The luxio's anger shifted into accomplishment as his snarl changed into a grin.

"Scarlett, can you grab the map?" Martian chuckled as he laid down on his belly.

"Why?" The vulpix asked as she used her paws to slide the map free from its place on the luxio's uniform, "What do you hope to find?"

"A waterfall in a forest somewhere," The luxio replied tracing every river he could find on the map with his claw, "I don't remember everything, but I think I visited a structure built near a waterfall, ruins probably. A potential base maybe."

"Ruins?" The vulpix asked again, "I don't know Martian, most ruins are either mystery dungeons or too unsafe to make into a home. Never know when they might collapse on top of you in your sleep."

The fire type's words failed to connect with the luxio's ears as the Blue Warden continued to scour the map for whatever he was looking for. It wasn't that he was ignoring her, it's just that he had devoted every bit of focus he could muster to the task at hand.

Martian's paw almost danced across the parchment as his eyes followed every little detail faster than Scarlett thought possible. Either he was blindly hoping that the odds would be in their favor, or he knew it was worth finding from experience. The vulpix's hesitation at the thought began to shift to imagining what it could mean if they found something like the ruins Martian described.

The kitsune's paws and tails were having trouble staying still again. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

As it turns out there were only three waterfalls on the map located near a forest area so that already narrowed the search area down quite a bit, especially since one of them was already right in the middle of another settlement. That left the Wardens with two waterfalls to search.

Due to its relatively closer location to Treasure Town, probably no more than a half hour or so if they took a shortcut through the forest, the duo agreed to check out Shienweld Falls first. No one knew who gave the waterfall such a weird name since no civilized pokemon had lived in the area at all.

All the more reason to check it out as far as they were concerned.

First it was the towers of stones stacked atop each other as simple markers for a path that really started to inspire Scarlett. They were on a trail, someone had been here before them a long time ago? What else might they have left behind up ahead? The vulpix was ecstatic to find out.

A few rotting fence posts,

Some flat stones in the path,

An old tree stump or two that had been cut down,

A few old ruts from what looked like a wagon wheel weathered down over time. . .

The vulpix could hardly hold back her excitement any longer the minute she began to hear the waterfall, giving in and running ahead of her teammate to get the first look at the mighty cascade and the ruins that would be standing alongside it.

What was she going to find? What was going to be the big finish? Maybe a long forgotten vault filled with so much treasure she could swim in it? Or maybe some sort of majestic palace fit for royalty? She could only imagine as she raced around the corner and reached the waterfall. . .

Absolutely nothing. No palace, no ruins, no treasure, just her shattered dreams and a few trees. The vulpix felt like crying, all of that build up and anticipation was for nothing. Even with the colossal size of the waterfall crashing down in front of her in a display of nature's power and grace, everything seemed pathetically small in comparison to the massive hole in her heart.

The fire type remained stationary, broken and sobbing quietly when the former human managed to catch up. He too was disappointed at their apparent failure, but not enough to silence his gut instinct that he was missing something. He knew it was here, he recognized those trees and rocks, he had climbed the stone ramp that seemed to lead up to the waterfall.

No, not up to, _into!_

The luxio smirked, it wasn't a failure quite yet.

The electric type jogged over to the edge of the waterfall, close enough he could slip between the falling water and the stone cliff without getting pummeled to death. Now all he needed to do was find the-

 _Rattle!_

Found it.

Using his mouth to secure his grip on the pull chain, Martian backtracked slowly, tugging on the trigger while taking care not to slip into the water until he started to hear the gears moving above him.

The saddened vixen outside failed to hear Martian's accomplishment over the continuous roar of the waterfall, at least that was until the cascade split into two. Eyes wide in amazement, Scarlett could only watch in awe as a roofed bridge emerged from behind the falls until it reached the stone ramp offering safe, dry passage to whatever was hidden in the Cliffside.

Martin was the first to reach the top of the ramp, before turning around and gesturing to his partner to join him. It took a few seconds for the vulpix to get her stunned body to obey her commands again, but all of the anticipation and excitement she thought she had lost returned in full as she ran up to join him. She could see some of what was inside, gears, chains, stone bricks, it was better than she could have dreamed!

Just one more thing to address,

Martian huffed as he secured a stance before inhaling as deeply as he could, filling his lungs with a mixture of air and raw accomplishment before letting loose. The roar seemed to shake the earth and trees as several wild pokemon fled from his unbridled cry of victory.

How could she have dreamed so small?

 **AN: If you can figure out what's behind the name** **Shienweld, Please do not spoil it for everyone else, just PM me about it OK?**


	13. Missing Person

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Thirteen: Missing Person**

It took almost three weeks of constant work, but Scarlett was quite pleased with how well the two of them managed to clean out most of the old ruins. Removing a few centuries worth of dust, cobwebs, and filth had been difficult, especially when the vulpix made the mistake of trying to burn the cobwebs, filling the air with the smell of burning dust.

Eventually the two had restored most of the base into a habitable living space, but it would still take more before it would feel like a true home. So far they just had the bare essentials like piles of straw for beds and the like. It wasn't hard to find new furniture and decorations to improve the base, it's just that they didn't have enough coin to afford all of it at the moment. They'd have to buy it a little at a time as they earned more coin.

Not that they were in any immediate rush to find work, there was an abundance of wild game for food and fresh water at their disposal so they agreed to spend a few days training before heading back to Treasure Town.

Martian's training became increasingly tough for the vulpix, often ending with the fire type bruised and sore, but far more mature and strong. The training they had done in the dojo was merely the tip of the iceberg compared to the intensity and raw spirit of the sparring the duo would participate in now. Scarlett began to fight more instinctively, more fluidly, no longer needing to manage every detail in every situation.

Not that she was perfect, The fact she had began to get used to the taste of blood was a hardened reminder that she was by no means unbeatable. Still, she had grown to the point that whenever she would get into a fight, she was fairly confident that she could come out on top most of the time.

Especially when she managed to counter one of Martian's attacks and land a blow on the luxio, catching him off guard during one of their spars. He was quick to recover, but not so fast that Scarlett missed his proud smirk. There was no mistaking it, he was very proud of her, and that made her feel great. The vulpix instinctively dodged the electric type's follow up attack, she wasn't going to make that mistake again. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

About a week had passed since then, and it was time for the Wardens to finally look for work. Unfortunately, that meant that they had to return to Wigglytuff's guild to look at the jobs posted there. Martian and Loudred did exchange expressions of mutual dislike as the Loudmouth pokemon reluctantly opened the main gate, but thankfully that's where the hostilities ended.

Now all the had to do was find work that suited them. Most of the posted jobs were small time glorified errands, like delivering a package to a location that the Pelliper Mail was just too lazy to fly to. The most paying job available was to provide security to a merchant's caravan, but that would take them weeks if not months. Scarlett wasn't sure if she was comfortable with the idea of having to basically babysit some miser for that long.

"Not a good day for finding work," Martian growled, "I'll take a look at posted bounties, if that doesn't work out we could just enter a Mystery Dungeon and collect any loose coin or supplies, That's got to be more productive then if we took one of the errands here."

"Is it okay if I go talk with Chimecho?" The fire type asked, Martian may have made some enemies here, but she liked to think she had made some friends before getting kicked out.

The luxio huffed, but quickly calmed down and acknowledged the vulpix's request. As much as he held a grudge against this place, he couldn't let his opinions dictate who Scarlett could make friends with. It just wouldn't be fair to her.

"Scarlett! Great to see you!" The Chime Pokemon beamed once the vulpix approached her desk, "I was getting a little worried about you when you haven't been around the past couple of days. Thought something happened."

"Good to see you too." The fire type responded, "Martian and I've been busy trying to set up a really cool base, so we've been pretty occupied. No need to come to town until today."

"Oh, good." The physic type replied in a bit of a hushed tone, quickly glancing around before leaning closer to the kitsune and whispering in a troubled tone.

"I'm not supposed to do this Scarlett, but about a week ago a group of Pokemon came in and handed this job letter to be posted. Chatot wanted it up right away but Dugtrio and I've been holding it behind the counter here for you. You needed to know about it before anyone else." Chimecho explained as she slipped the rolled up parchment to the confused, and now slightly afraid fire type.

One small peek at the contents of the page, and the entire world seemed to fade into a cold, black void of nothingness. She knew the world was still there, but her brain wouldn't let her see it. Her whole world had been confined to the letter in her paws.

Scarlett didn't remember leaving the guild after that, how her coworker came to her side and removed the parchment from her grasp and lead her outside. It wasn't until she stepped completely into the sunlight, until she felt the star's warmth against her fur that the black void her mind had imprisoned her in dissipated.

Martian had unrolled and flattened out the cursed letter in front of them in order to discuss it. At first glance it looked like a fairly straightforward Missing Persons report, the thing that worried him was the fact that his partner's face took up the uppermost portion. Scarlett was the missing person.

"Name Flaris, Red Vulpix, Female, Age 17, Missing for three months, believed to be heading towards western coastline." Martian read out loud before he scowled, "Sweet innocent confused girl ran away from her loving home, please bring her home before something terrible happens to her as she can not defend herself."

Martian laughed a little at that, obviously whoever wrote the poster wanted it to be as much of a tear jerker as possible. Still, the amount of exaggeration used to try and invoke sympathy was so absurd it was almost comical.

But that didn't change the fact that frightened his partner. The fact that the past that the restrictive life she had left behind was back to retake her. No doubt the five digit reward would attract a lot of attention to her trail too, gullible exploration teams who want to do the right thing and hired thugs alike.

"Well, there is some good news at least," Martian summarized as he turned to his partner who kept her head buried in her paws, "They're looking for someone named Flaris, some small petite little rich girl. I don't know anyone by that name, how about you Scarlett?"

The vulpix managed to pick her head up and grin, at least Martian still had some faith in her, but as impressive and as powerful as he was, he was only one Pokemon out of the dozens that would be looking for her.

"I still look like a rich girl though don't I? I mean, yeah my fur isn't perfectly clean but it's still got that upper class healthy shine to it." Scarlett sighed as she laid her head down again, "People only one good look at me to realize I've had my fur groomed so much that it stays this way. Not sure what I could do to change tha-"

The vulpix's complaint's were abruptly ended with a surprised giggle as her partner almost playfully pounced on her without warning, the former human's paws danced around her accompanied by very small, harmless electric jolts. The fire type could only half heartedly attempt to fend him off or escape the tickling. Hopefully he couldn't see how much she was blushing under her fur when he finally stopped.

"What were you saying about your fur staying some way?" Martian asked trying to hide how much he just enjoyed surprising her like that. He failed.

Puzzled, Scarlett managed to stop panting and used a paw to pat the top of her head, pausing to find it now unkempt. Her first instinct was to immediately groom herself, but she managed to catch her reflection. She looked more like a tomboy now, more practical, and far less like someone raised with manners and etiquette.

She didn't look like Flaris, instead she began to look more like Scarlett. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep this look from now on. . .

But that didn't mean that she would forget Martian's tickling, oh no, she was going to get her revenge when the time was right. . .


	14. Abduction

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Abduction**

"So what do you want to do with it?"

The luxio's question caught her off guard, snapping Scarlett out of her chain of thought.

"What do you mean what do I want to do with it?" The vulpix asked back, glancing at the poster again.

"Do you want to keep it? Give it back, or destroy it?" Martian explained, "Personally I'd rip and chew it to ashes with Fire Fang if I were you, but it is your choice."

Scarlett chuckled at the idea, it sounded fun but at the same time, she didn't want to destroy it. The vulpix's mother had no doubt ordered hundreds of the posters so destroying one was rather pointless.

Besides, the small mischievous side of her wanted a trophy of how powerless her mother was over her now.

"Think I'll keep it for now," Scarlett finally decided, "Can I store it on your vest until we get back home?"

Martian smirked as he turned to present his right flank to his partner so she could secure the document. Once the rolled up parchment was in place he gestured for Scarlett to go first down the stairs to the crossroads.

"We never found a job did we, Martian?" Scarlett asked as the two began to walk down the stairs.

"Nothing posted on the boards," The electric-type confirmed, "We could poke around Treasure Town real quick though, see if any of the shops could use our help. Failing that we'll just clear out a Mystery Dungeon and collect any resources or treasure we find."

The vixen was the first to reach the crossroads and turned her head to look forward again until she caught sight of a blue sphere collapsed at the outer edge of the intersection. Immediately her mind switched to the role of rescuer, and she leaped to aid the unknown victim.

It was a Marill, about mid-adolescence, struggling to breathe as it lay face first on the road, a sickly wheeze faintly emanating from his mouth. The round pokemon's body was dotted with injuries, most of which seemed to be fresh heavy bruises. It looked like the kid got nailed in a rockslide, but somehow that didn't explain everything.

The bloody puncture definitely did. The Wardens had quickly rolled the pokemon onto it's back to help it breathe only to find that the little water type had been using his hands in an attempt to stop a particularly messy wound on his stomach. It looked like a pokemon tried to impale him with a sharp claw or some other sharp object. One that carried a payload of poison if the sickly violet fluid draining alongside his blood was any indication

Scarlett wasted no time grabbing two Pecha Berries from Martian's pack, squeezing one until it was crushed into a pinkish pulp, administering the fruit directly into the tainted wound. The pink met purple and briefly turned a pale yellow-green as the powerful medicinal properties of the berry neutralized the toxins.

The Water/fairy type managed to regain some consciousness briefly as the Pecha pulp began to slightly sting in his chest. For a few seconds, the wounded kid was delirious and weakly tried to fight back, mistaking his rescuers for attackers. Martian had to forcibly pin the kid back down to stop him from only adding to his injuries.

"Shh, shh, It's okay, we're here to help," Scarlett tried to soothe the young pokemon, "Relax, you made it to Treasure Town, you're safe."

It took a few more seconds, but eventually, the little water type managed to realize that he had been lashing out at red fur instead of whatever nearly killed him, and looked up to see Scarlett's brown compassionate eyes softly directed at him. Once he saw that he wasn't still being attacked he relented, falling into a sitting position and gratefully consuming the remaining Pecha berry the fox offered him.

"Let's get you to the infirmary," Martian spoke up, "You can thank us after you recover."

"N-no, I n-need to go back." The Marill weakly protested as he began to struggle to his feet, to no avail.

"You're not going anywhere with your belly open like that except the infirmary," Martian growled, his patience was quickly vanishing, being nice was not one of his strong points.

"No, M-my brother, h-he's sti-ill there, I h-have to rescue him." The fairy type tried to explain as again he struggled to his feet, and again was unsuccessful.

"Rescue him from what, where?" Scarlett asked softly in an attempt to keep the child somewhat calm.

"Mr. Drowzee said he saw our float on Mt. Bristle and said he'd show us where it is. We were climbing up when Mr. Drowzee separated us with a rockslide. M-my brother was screaming for help, I-I tried to save him but the wild pokemon were too strong." The wounded child explained between sobbing and wincing in pain.

That changed the situation quite a bit, kidnapping two children just to split them off and leave one to die while dragging the other off for some unknown purpose. Martian had a new target to direct his growing anger to.

"We'll get him back, alive." Martian promised the young victim, teeth bared and fur coursing with electrical charge.

"We can't just leave him here Martian, we need to get him to the healer!" Scarlett reminded, referring to the victim that laid between the Wardens.

"We don't have time to-" Martian began to argue until he caught sight of a few of the Guild's apprentices reaching the bottom of the stairs, problem solved.

"You three," Martian shouted startling the trio of apprentices, "Get this kid to the infirmary. Scarlett and I will go after his brother."

The guild members remained stationary trying to make sense of what was going on but promptly took action when the luxio snapped at them again with a much more aggressive tone.

 **Wardens Eternal**

Mount Bristle was easy to pick out since it stood alone rather then it's cousins who formed the mountain range further up north. Word was that if a Pokemon climbed to its peak, they would be able to see both of the coastlines to the east and west, though the few Pokemon who managed to reach the peak reported seeing nothing but Absols, rocks, and snow.

None of that mattered now, all that mattered was finding that abducted child before it was too late. The kid and his captor could be anywhere along the mountainside, hidden among one of the many steep ledges and stony dens that made up the terrain. Wherever they were, it wasn't going to keep that Drowzee safe much longer. . .


	15. Mount Bristle

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Mount Bristle**

It was becoming increasingly obvious that their mission wasn't going to be an easy one. The two Wardens had come under almost constant attacks by swarms of Doduo and flocks of Staravia. Had the birds picked another location they would have been a frustration at most, but along the mountainside, they took on the form of a deadly distraction.

The real danger came from the Geodudes' ability to blend into their home, hiding in plain sight, lashing out whenever one of the explorers unknowingly drew too close. The aching pain in Martian's side enough to prove that fact.

It was a perfect ambush, set up at a chokepoint between a pile of stones to his right and a ledge eroded smooth by the wind to his left. The Wardens had no idea that some of the stones were, in fact, a trio of the rock pokemon until one launched its attack, slamming itself into Martian's side. The luxio tumbled and rolled down the decline, quickly approaching the cliff overlooking the lethal drop below, leaving his partner to fend off three of the rock types alone.

Without any vines, roots, or anything else to stop his fall, Martian pierced his claws into the smooth stone. The moment they caught, he exclaimed at the pain of having his claws almost forcefully yanked out of his paws as he slowed to a stop, leaving sixteen clean lines dug into the face of the mountain.

Now to get back to Scarlett and even the odds against those wild Pokemon. . .

Then again, judging by how two unconscious Geodudes almost hit him as they rolled and ultimately fell off the cliff to parts unknown, Scarlett seemed to be doing just fine. The hostiles' fates confirmed by two loud cracks of stone colliding with stone echoing across the mountain.

When the luxio finally managed to climb back up to the original path, he found his partner and the last attacker in a standoff. Neither side wanted to attack, despite the Rock type's advantage over the vixen. Time to break the stalemate.

The Geodude failed to realize it's situation until the luxio's shadow was draped over him and the lion's battle cry echoed off the rocks all around them. The rock type crossed its stony arms across its face in an attempt to block the incoming pounce, but the defense did little other than soften the blow from Martian's first Metal Claw.

The Blue Warden was ruthless in his attack, pummeling the enemy with the same metallic paw until the Geodude was finally knocked out. It's damaged and pitted body was discarded as the Luxio roared out his victory, a call so loud that every Starly and Staravia nearby promptly fled, and would continue to give the electric type a wide berth.

And then he promptly fell to the ground, his cry of dominance turning into a furious growl of pain as his left paw covered his right flank. The same spot that one of the Geodudes slammed into him earlier. There wasn't any blood, none of his ribs felt broken, so it was probably nothing more than a nasty bruise. That said, it would be best to avoid any further injury to that area, he'd have to be careful.

"Martian! Are you okay?" Scarlett asked as the luxio managed to stand on his other three legs.

"Hurt, but not too bad." The luxio muttered, "Can you get an Oran Berry from my pack? It will keep the swelling down for now and numb the pain."

"R-right." The vixen stuttered for a second before opening the pocket on her partner's vest, removing one of the medicinal blue berries and setting it down in front of him.

The former human relished the sweet and juicy fruit as he ingested it, immediately feeling a notable decrease of pain coming from his side and paws. It would still take time for his body to fully recover, but the berry could ease the process and renew some of his strength.

Time to move on, they still had a kid to save. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

Resistance had been light since the wild pokemon's failed ambush, a Machop here or there and the occasional Doduo still trying to get a piece of the action but nothing that really posed a challenge or true threat. Still, with no guide or map to show the explorers exactly where the kidnapper was on the mountain, it was becoming a rather long search.

At least they found the pokemon responsible for poisoning and impaling the poor Marill, A Nidorino, or more likely about three dozen Nidorino gathered together, fighting to impress nearby Nidorina.

"They're fighting to impress the females," Martian whispered from their perch above the poison types, "Must be close to the mating season for them, this must be the mountain's entire population of them."

"Meaning in order for Marill to get that injury he must have fallen in there," Scarlett pointed out, "Is there any chance we might pick up his trail here and track it to Drowzee's last known location?"

"Possible, but I wouldn't count on it, no footprints, no blood trail from before this point, and his scent is probably lost by now." The luxio reasoned, "And I don't think it's smart to go down there and ask them, they are nasty enough when not trying to impress a mate."

"Marill wouldn't wander into that willingly, he had to have tripped or fallen in." Scarlett reminded herself as she looked for where the fairy type had to have dropped into the arena below. There wasn't any obvious sign of recent rockslides or anyway the ground may have given way under the little guy. No way of entering the pit without knowing what was at the bottom.

But a different detail caught the vulpix's attention: Smoke from the other side of a small ridge. She knew what that meant. If there is smoke there is fire, and where there is fire is often a campsite or structure, and those meant civilization.

That beacon of smoke would lead them to someone who could help them, or maybe even lead them directly to the kidnapper himself. Only one way to find out. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

"Hello? Anyone here?" Scarlett called out as the Wardens approached the smoke's origin. Looked like it was a fairly nice camp had been set up, it had the bare essentials like a campfire and a shelter but had a few extras like a few potted berries and a bucket of water at the ready.

"Yeah! I'll be right there!" A voice replied, coming from a nearby opening in the mountain wall that had been reinforced with wood beams and illuminated with candles: a mineshaft.

Eventually, a large ball of dust and dirt rolled out of the mineshaft, opening to reveal a Sandslash as he skidded to a halt on his feet. A red bandana with a green pattern was worn around his neck that seemed to radiate even more dust while he placed a hat of some sort with a large brim on his head.

"Howdy boy, little lady," The ground type greeted as he adjusted his hat again until it stayed on right, "You don't look the type to be makin' trouble, so what can I do for you kids?"

"Sir," Martian returned the greeting, "Scarlett and I are looking for someone on this mountain. A kidnapper, and his latest victim." The Warden explained.

"Sorry kid, but I ain't seen nobody but wilds since I came back up here a month ago. Reckon that don't help you none." The prospector admitted, "Not many civilized pokemon come up here, a few prospectors like myself and miners come for the ore up here but there ain't much else."

"Can you tell us anything about the mountain? Where they might be headed? Please?" Scarlett pleaded, desperate for progress of any sort.

"I told ya, nothin but a handful of mines." The Sandslash repeated before pausing, "Although there is that old thief's stash. Been there for ages, a hallow rock formation. Word is that someone hid their treasure in it, but no one's been able to get it open."

"Sounds like something that would attract a criminal," Martian thought out loud, "Why can't anyone get it open?"

"There's a big ol' rock blocking the way. Pokemon have spent years trying to move it, smash it, anythin' but the rock don't budge." The Sandslash explained, "I tried, spent a whole day slashin and grinding against that thing, all for nothin, not even a scratch. Plenty of gaps around it so Pokemon can see the stuff, but too small to reach through and snag somethin"

"Unless you are a little boy like the one Drowzee kidnapped, you might be able to squeeze through." Martian thought out loud, putting the pieces together. "It's worth taking a look, mind showing us the way?"

"Better, I'll show you a shortcut through my Mine," The ground type agreed, "I just hope you don't mind all the loose dirt and stuff, I wasn't expectin' company."

With that, the prospector curled up into a ball again and rolled into the labyrinth of tunnels, leading the Wardens to their goal. . .


	16. Drowzee

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Drowzee**

One of the big dangers of digging a mine was that it tunnels could collapse no matter how well you reinforced them. One unfortunate cave-in could block off the entrance, trapping the workers inside where they would eventually suffocate and die if unable to breathe fresh air. Thankfully, The prospector was smart enough to plan ahead if such a disaster occurred. The Sandslash had dug several shafts that reached the surface for ventilation or escape, and it was one such escape shaft he directed them to.

The climb up the narrow tunnel had been tight, to say the least, with both of the Wardens barely squeezing through as they crawled their way up to the surface. Martian was the first to emerge, taking a moment to readjust his eyes to sunlight before offering Scarlett a helping paw to pull herself out. Both of the pokemon's fur coats were completely caked in dirt from the tunnels, but that was an issue they would have to address later once they were off the mountain.

"H-Help!"

Both of the Wardens sprang to attention. The kid was close, _very_ close.

"I keep telling you kid, no one is going to hear you. So be quiet!" A second voice sneered, it's tone dripping with barely restrained violence, "And stop squirming you little runt! We're almost there. Do me this favor and I'll take you back to your brother. Got it?"

The Wardens held the advantage for the moment, the small clearing they were currently in was up on a higher elevation than the path the criminal was walking. They could easily pounce on the Physic type from up there with the element of surprise, but that would put the scared water type at risk. They would have to wait for the right moment. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

"And here we are," The drowzee huffed as he threw the terrified azurill out in front of him, "Look, I ain't asking you to do much. I've been very reasonable with you so far despite the amount of trouble you've been."

"Look, behind that rock is a stash of gold and treasure but I'm too big to get in there and get it myself. That's where you come in." The outlaw explained, "All you have to do is get in there and bring me my treasure, simplicity itself. Cooperate and I might even let you keep a piece yourself."

"I don't want treasure!" The little water-type cried, "I want my brother!"

The young pokemon tried to make a run for it by going around its captor, but the outlaw coldly grabbed him by his tail, dragging him to the largest hole near the rock and forcefully stuffing the child inside deaf to its pleas.

"Oh quit whining." The outlaw sighed before snapping, "You get my Treasure out of there or you will rot to death in there! NOW GET ME MY TREASURE YOU USELESS PIECE OF-"

A roar of great strength erupted, amplified across the mountain by its own echo and silencing the criminal in an instant. Azurill made the wise choice of staying in the pocket protected by the large immovable stone. The psychic-type turned around to face the challengers, and for the first time he could remember, he felt fear.

The luxio seemed to radiate power and skill from many, many battles. Far too many for a pokemon so young. For a moment, Drowzee tried to tap into the electric type's mind, to find the key used to make such a convincing bluff. To convince himself that this was an elaborate act to intimidate the outlaw. There was just one problem. . .

It was no bluff.

The dream eater panicked and hastily fires two Psycho cuts at the blue warrior in an attempt to get the first hit in. The electric type roared again as he intercepted the incoming attacks with two bolts of lightning, stopping the preemptive strike in its tracks.

Drowzee knew that swiping the kid was a bad idea, he knew that someone would come after him. That said, he wasn't expecting them to find him so quickly or be anything like the deadly luxio that had him cornered. Maybe he should have surrendered?

A powerful Flamethrower erupted in the corner of the Tapir's vision, only allowing enough time for the criminal to barely erect a defensive barrier to shield himself from the flames. Drowzee was beginning to feel his heart race, there were _TWO_ opponents? How did he miss that?

At least the vulpix on the other end of the flamethrower was not of the same caliber as her partner. The dream thief felt somewhat comforted by the fact that he could take her one on one. A blast of telekinetic energy was enough to break off the kitsune's attack and force her back a small ways. At least she wasn't invincible.

The luxio's Metal Claw breaking through his shield made the tapir's heart jump up into his throat as the Electric type seemingly teleported right in front of him. No, he didn't teleport, he used his ally's flamethrower as cover to hide his advance underneath it! Drowzee didn't have time to really decide if the maneuver was to be commendable or just plain dirty as he leaped back to avoid the Metal claw that would have dug into his face had he delayed even half a second.

The outlaw's eyes didn't even have time to widen in shock before a metallic flail collided into one side of his face with enough force to throw him into the ground hard enough to leave him dazed.

The impact had impaired his ability to see or hear let alone maintain his balance long enough to stumble onto his feet. From what little he did know, both of his opponents were closing in, circling around and waiting for the next opportunity.

Maybe it was time to return the impairment, it would buy him a little time at least.

A dazzling, blinding flash enveloped his attackers' vision, providing a few precious moments to begin the process before he began to feel the luxio's jaws clamp down on his body before the decoy took his place.

Drowzee's real body rematerialized only a couple of paces away as the dazzling gleam died down to reveal the luxio's jaws embedded deep into the "flesh" of the substitute. He was that close to watching his own death.

The Substitute had saved his life for the moment, but the cost of his rapidly depleting energies meant that such a tactic could not sustain him forever. Drowzee knew that he was just backing himself into a corner more every second he spent on the defensive. He had to go on the attack.

Fortunately, he had a trick to use as a last resort. A move he didn't want anyone to know he had: Future Sight.

Thanks to the brief clairvoyance, Drowzee was able to easily dodge the lion's claw before slamming into the electric-type's ribs. The effect was devastating.

The luxio must have sustained some sort of injury on the climb up the mountain, something big slammed into his side and bruised it badly. Now add Drowzee's telekinetically boosted shoulder charge to the same area, breaking ribs and forcing the lion to collapse.

So the luxio wasn't so invincible after all. The outlaw's confidence began to return at the change in events. It was starting to look like he could win this battle after all.

To the luxio's credit, he didn't just succumb to his injuries and faint, continuing to growl despite his difficulty breathing. The injured pokemon kept trying to recover and push himself back up onto his feet, but his body was unable to comply. Defiant to the end, but helpless to change it

Now Drowzee could devote more attention to the vulpix, and win the fight.

The fox had been momentarily stunned by watching her partner go down. Clearly, she never expected to watch her partner fall, and now her confidence fell with him. That was good, it meant that Drowzee had complete control over the situation. Now to reap its rewards.

The kitsune managed to recover and dive out of the way of two Psycho cuts directed at her but was unable to evade the clutches of the Dream Thief's telekinetic energy. The fire type was lifted up in the air and exclaimed in pain as the outlaw's invisible grip began to tighten around her, squeezing any resistance out of her. A cruel hobby that the tapir took pleasure in.

Maybe he should spare her? A cutie like her could fetch a lot of coin from the right pokemon. . .

His scheming was cut short as every nerve and fiber of his body fell victim to the unrestrained power of a lightning bolt. It was like a thousand cactus needles erupted from inside his body flying in every direction as his flesh felt like it was melted inside his skin.

Once the electricity finally finished passing through his body, Drowzee collapsed to the ground, his muscles continued to spasm uncontrollably making his body flop like a Magikarp stuck on land.

The last thing he saw was the beaten luxio somehow able to get back on his feet and was weakly approaching. The electric-type was clearly in great pain as could be proven by his struggle to breathe and the large bruises swelling up on his side, but any look of suffering in his eyes was undetectable. Instead, Drowzee saw something different within the lion's eyes: Rage.

The entire world faded away into grey with the exception of the furious lion as he let out one final roar with all of his remaining strength, and focused all of it into a single slash with his claw.

Everything went black.


	17. By the Fire

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Seventeen: By the Fire**

Scarlett didn't have much in terms of options on what to do. Martian was hurt badly, struggling to stand and breathe at the same time while his side began to swell again. There was no way Scarlett would be able to carry her much larger partner all the way back down the mountain. Worse, the sun had started to set and the temperature was beginning to decrease.

So, the Vixen did the best thing she could do: Gather some dry wood and prepare a campfire to help deter the worst of the cold and wild pokemon for the night. After lighting the makeshift firepit with an Ember attack, the fox devoted herself to trying to treat the luxio's injuries however she could and ease his pain. The most she could do was help him remove his uniform and relieve some of the pressure on the bruise. Other then that, the best she could do to help was retrieve an Oran berry every once in a while for the pain.

It had to be at least two hours after sundown when she finally laid down and curled up next to the fire to try to sleep. Little Azurill, banged up a little but not seriously harmed, climbed up onto the vixen and tried to burrow his way down into her fur. That hurt, but Scarlett understood completely. The little water type was freezing trying to sleep in the open and her fur was, well, the closest thing they had to his normal bed.

"Martian, aren't you cold?"

"No." The luxio lied, somehow mixing a low growl and a painful groan into a single sound. He was hurting a lot, but trying his best not to show it, or how much he was shivering. The campfire would only deter wild pokemon to a point. If they could see his weakness, his vulnerability, it might just give them enough confidence to attack under the cover of night.

Scarlett wasn't going to have any more of that. A small voice in the back of her head screamed at her, demanding what in the void was she doing, that it was inappropriate. The vixen ignored it, that was Flaris talking. She slowly got up as to not dump Azurill onto the ground suddenly as she moved over and laid down again, nuzzling herself up against the lion's body.

"Just because I'm a fire-type doesn't mean I don't get cold too." She defended herself when the former human started to give her a certain look.

With a painful sigh, Martian nodded and ceased to glare at his partner. There was no use in putting up a fight, not that he was in any real condition to protest or resist. True, it was a tactical error, if they were to get jumped by wild pokemon they'd be a much easier target when packed closely together. Being spread out and having someone keep watch was the best way to prevent that. . .

He just didn't care anymore.

Both Wardens and little Azurill were asleep within minutes.

 **Wardens Eternal**

Martian was the first to wake up in time to witness the sunrise at the day's beginning. There was definitely some sort of awe present as the great golden orb unveiled itself, the clash of colors, the sudden rush of warmth, the promise of a new day.

 _The promise of new life itself._

The thought stung in the back of the luxio's mind painfully, there was something important to his memory in that chain of thought. Sunrises were important to him in his past life somehow, but why? and how could he learn more?

The sounds of distant voices were enough to retire that line of thinking for another time. Looked like the posse had almost found them, it was about time to get off this mountain.

A Swellow was the first to actually reach the Warden's camp thanks to her ability to fly. Corphish, Bidoof, and Sunflora, the three guild members Martian tasked with rushing Marill to the healers back at the crossroads led the rest of the party, Ursaring, the Poochyena brothers, and a few other residents from Treasure Town.

They were all (gratefully) surprised to find the Wardens alive, let alone victorious against Drowzee. The tapir had been on the Sheriff's Department most wanted list for years, always finding a way to kill anyone who attempted to capture him or escape. While pokemon who watched the Wardens train and spar in town were impressed by their talent, no one truly thought that the two inexperienced rookies would have survived their encounter.

Speaking of the outlaw. . .

Sunflora and some of the others couldn't stomach the sight of what was left of him. His fur was stained with blood and various fluids as cuts and wounds dotted across his body. There were some spots where his fur had been lost, the skin underneath contorted into hideous burns that still smelled of seared flesh. Worse was his face, or rather whatever was supposed to be his face.

The right side was at least recognizable, dotted with injuries and another one of those nasty electrical burns. The rest of his head was a hideously deformed abomination. Four giant, deep gashes had completely destroyed his face, leaving a mess of missing and contorted skin, dried blood, and bodily fluids, not to mention the aftermath of Martian's claw gouging deeply into his left eye, almost ripping the eyeball in half.

Martian didn't care what the others thought of him, as long as the victim Azurill, and his teammate Scarlett were alive and well, nothing else mattered. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

Two weeks, two damn weeks. Martian was quickly growing more restless ever since Ursaring had carried the wounded lion on his shoulder, Drowzee slung over the other. When they got back to Treasure Town, the healer began the task of overseeing both Martian and the boys recovery.

Azurill was released from the infirmary after two days of observation to make sure he was fine. All of the bruises and scrapes the little lad had endured were gone within a week, and the little fairy type was back to his innocent, bouncy, joyful self again. His constant visits to check on his brother and hero always brought smiles to everyone's face.

Unfortunately, his elder brother was not recovering nearly as fast. Marill was rarely awake, and even when he was he seldom had the strength to do much of anything for any long length of time. While the horn that had impaled him somehow missed his lungs and heart, it did remove a third of the boy's total body weight. The Healers and anyone in Treasure Town who were able had been sustaining him via Heal Pulse or similar moves.

Martian's own injury was taking too long to heal in his opinion. When he checked in, he expected to get his side bandaged, maybe get hit with a Heal Pulse or two and maybe have to drink some Miltank milk or some other medical drink. After that it was back to work, at least that's what he hoped for.

Nope, he got stuck with having to do nothing but rest for a couple of weeks, and to make sure that he wasn't trying to sneak off and worsen his injuries the healer made him stay in her clinic. Much to the luxio's frustration. At least the visitors who wanted to see him were tolerable.

The Sheriff himself came and visited Martian to thank the Wardens for taking down one of their most wanted and pay out the reward in person. An honor the former human accepted. There was just one small problem, two actually:

First, some pokemon had seen the luxio's handiwork on the outlaw and had gone into a frenzy about arresting the Warden himself for "Needlessly torturing and killing a kind, gentle, innocent soul." No one really believed them, but they would continue to be an annoyance from now on. Apparently, some pokemon didn't have anything better to do with their lives. Thank Arceus they were the minority.

And second, the slimeball was somehow still alive, barely. But considering how he was already sentenced to life in prison before he escaped four years prior, no one was in any rush to save his life. Drowzee was going to die in prison, how long he'd live before that happened was of no concern.

After the sheriff were people who wanted to hear about the latest story from the source, messengers, bards and the like. Pokemon tasked with spreading the news to various settlements around the world. Martian humored them for a while, telling them how the Wardens found Marill bleeding to death and how they went after Drowzee. Where he did not humor them was how exactly the fight went down.

"My partner and I split up to divide his attention and defense." Martian explained, "She distracted the hostile long enough for me to engage close quarters and vice versa. The details are unimportant."

Needless to say, the various Kricketune and Linoone were disappointed by his account of the latest news story, without details pokemon would quickly begin to lose interest.

Thankfully the luxio wasn't the only one who knew what happened up on that mountain, there was still his partner.

"The Dangerous Dame" they called her, the Burning Beauty, Graceful Guardian, and all manners of nicknames to reflect her newly famous skills, not to mention her elegant appearance. They managed to glean the dramatic details from her.

Then the former human got one visitor he wished never set foot in the clinic, or rather never set wing in.

"Ah, Martian, I'm surprised to see you survived your encounter with that outlaw."

"I'd be lying if I said it was thanks to the training we got back at the guild _Chatot._ Mainly because we didn't get any training from you at all." Martian growled, putting extra emphasis on the con bird's name.

"No, but your mission to capture him would not have been possible without the guild either." The parrot shrugged off the hostile tone, "Truth of the matter is that without Apprentices Corphish, Bidoof and Sunflora, you would have failed to complete your mission to Mount Bristle. They had to rescue you."

Martian almost snorted, the mission was a success. Get Azurill away from Drowzee and keep him safe. Taking down the outlaw was a secondary goal at best. All the apprentices did was get Marill to the healer and rally a large posse. Something Martian was thankful for, but it wouldn't have been impossible without them. If this leach of a bird tries to get one more coin out of them. . .

"I think it's only fair then that you pay the guild's fees for rescuing you, and a modest share of the bounty. I've taken the liberty of running the numbers for you, meaning your debt to the guil-"

The Warden had enough, and sized the bird in the blink of an eye, gripping the buzzard around the throat with one paw. The sudden action had knocked over a small wooden table and drew the attention of everyone in the building. Most pokemon looked on in utter shock as the lion strangled Chatot.

"Approach myself, Scarlett, or any other Exploration team with the intention of exploiting us for your own profits and I will personally demonstrate blow by blow how Drowzee went from notorious outlaw to pitiful lunatic," Martian growled, letting arcs of electricity run up and down the limb that kept the bird in its grip.

"Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"

The strangling parrot couldn't nod yes any faster.

Martian released him, letting him drop to the ground as he grasped for sweet sweet air. However, the incoming Iron Tail made sure that Chatot's relief was short lived. The parasitic bird flew into the canvas wall, and the six behind that one, leaving a trail of rainbow feathers in his wake.

Most of the witnesses remained as statues once it was all over, though a few slowly began to clap at the fact that someone had finally given what the community as a whole wanted to give Chatot. That was until the lion collapsed in pain again, earning a response from the staff.

Guess who just earned himself another week and a half in recovery?


	18. Ambushed

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Eighteen: Ambushed**

With his stay at the medical clinic finally over, the luxio just had to finish talking with Deputy Monferno, the chief Sheriff's deputy in Treasure Town about the violence that had happened a hand full of days prior.

"You know that was First Degree Assault right?"

"So I've heard," Martian rolled his eyes, "Alright Deputy, What happens now?"

"Now? Heh, Normally it would just be a fine for first time offenders, but well. . ." The lawman laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "A lot of pokemon already pitched in to pay it for you. Add in the fact that he was essentially asking for it, and as far as the Sheriff is concerned this never happened."

"Really? Other pokemon paid it?" The luxio asked, curiously surprised. "I thought they'd side with the guild considering how important it is to the town."

"Five years ago and you would have been right," The deputy explained, "It was under different management back then. It was the heart of Treasure Town from what I heard, brought in and then distributed coin into the community to help it grow and prosper, in turn attracting more business and more coin to go around."

"I don't know for certain how it happened, I think the last guildmaster died or went missing or something. It all happened before I was transferred here." The lawman continued, "But yeah, the guild fell under its new management. For a small while things seemed to be looking up again but pretty soon it all went to the void. They began charging a king's ransom for everything and ceased to invest in the town. Basically lots of coin went in, but next to none ever came back out."

"So the community hates the Guild because the guild is slowly killing the town?" The Warden summarized, "Glad to know I'm not the only one fed up with all of Chatot's taurosshit."

"You and me both." The lawman laughed. "Pokemon are starting to really like you; first you saved a little kid from one of our most wanted criminals, and now you gave Chatot what he deserved."

Martian chuckled at that as he returned to his feet.

"So, my record is clean?" The former human asked, stopping at the exit of the tent that served as the deputy's office.

"Cleaner than mine," Monferno laughed, "Still got that apple I stole when I was like five on mine. Besides, after bringing Drowzee in, we owe you a handful of favors. Now get going, I still got to get this paperwork done." The fire type sarcastically complained as he shooed the lion out of his office before looking at all of the parchment spread out on the desk in front of him.

The lawman sighed, times like this he wished he stayed as an explorer, spending his days catching criminals rather than writing about them. Well, as long as exploration teams bring in the bad guys and the Sheriff's department kept them off the streets, everyone was safer. Especially if pokemon like Martian are the ones hunting down outlaws. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

"Is something bugging you Scarlett?" Martian asked, noticing how unusually quiet and downcast the vulpix had been since they met up again in town.

"Scarlett."

"Wh-what?"

"Didn't you hear me? I asked if something was bugging you." Martian repeated.

"Sorry, I'm just," The kitsune muttered, looking down at her paws, "I'm just, just reconsidering all of this. I-I don't know if I want to keep doing this anymore."

A red flag went up in the luxio's mind the moment he heard that. Scarlett never mentioned any doubt or second thoughts any time she have visited him in town. If anything, she sarcastically complained that it was taking forever before they could get back to helping others. Nothing like the uncertain muttering he was hearing now.

"I thought it was your dream to help others, rescue them and fend off others who would do innocent pokemon harm?" Martian pressed, "What's going on?"

"I wanted to stop pokemon from harming others, but I never wanted to _kill_ them!" The vulpix pointed out, "I don't want to hurt anyone, but I can't help but think that I've killed other pokemon. I can't be a killer like you can, it's just not in me."

"Scarlett, I never look forward to killing, if there was another option that would guarantee that whoever I'm fighting wouldn't be a threat to me or anyone else ever again I'd take it. But that's not realistic, If I tried to do that I'd be only putting myself and others at greater risk of harm on a later date." Martian explained, as the two began to leave town on their way back home.

"I- I just don't kn-" Scarlett muttered before gasping and running ahead of the luxio, drawing his attention to what looked like the site of some sort of fight.

"Wh-what happened here?" Scarlett stuttered looking at the damage, "None of this was here when I came into town today."

Martian was busy picking out clues as to what could of happened. There were several scorch marks and other signs that a fire type was involved, and several patches of grass had been washed away by extreme water pressure, implying the involvement of a strong water type. Blood had splattered in various places by different means and had long since dried into a crusty red film. Several trees had been destroyed, snapped in half by some force. The local ferals couldn't of done this severe of damage. This was a fight between powerful pokemon.

Then the Warden found the body off the side of the road. Some sort of normal-type weasel he had never seen before armed with a large array of teeth and a yellow stripe down it's back. Whoever, or whatever it was, it had been dead for at least 3 days give or take a few hours. Bugs had began to accumulate around the corpse, but the body had yet to bloat or decay. The Pokemon's cause of death was obvious upon looking, a hostile combatant had managed to pierce the weasel's throat, causing him to bleed out and die in a matter of seconds.

The _exact_ same way Martian had been trained, and in turn, Scarlett.

Everything about this was making Martian's fur stand on end. Scarlett was acting different, like she was a different pokemon. The Scarlett he knew would be disturbed by seeing this, but not dismayed into trying to keep her distance. Something was wrong.

Then it happened again, one moment Martian felt his paw touch something on the ground, the next a huge migraine assaulted his head as the world blurred for a few seconds.

When his vision returned to, well close to normal, the former human immediately identified three pokemon's transparent forms in the middle of the road, one Rattata, a quadruped canine pokemon he didn't recognize, and the unidentified weasel pokemon that was now dead.

The three appeared to be bickering, with the weasel snapping at the Rattata with his teeth, possibly threatening to eat the rat until another voice got all three of their attention, and they off the road, hiding in the nearby shrubbery.

There were more pokemon lying in wait, bringing the total number to 7, The wolf, two of those weasels, two Rattatas, a Poliwrath, and a Magmortar. They seemed to be lying in wait to jump someone.

Martian clenched his teeth at the sight of their victim approaching unaware: Scarlett, on her way back home from town.

The kitsune didn't stay unaware for very long, maybe it was her hearing or they were upwind of her or something else, whatever it was it was enough to alert her of the ambush ahead. One that she decided to flank before engaging, getting off the road and sneaking her way behind one side of the trap.

Scarlett must have known them, because as soon as she saw who they were, she pounced. Her first attack landed on the Magmortar back, sending the much larger pokemon stumbling onto the road. As soon as her would be attackers realized that they had been ambushed, they came out of cover and tried to surround the vixen.

Scarlett's Smokescreen smartly bought her some cover as she sidestepped one of the rattata's attacks, lashing out with a flamethrower aimed at the wolf who jumped clear. The surprised expression on his face made it clear that he never expected Scarlett to be capable of such a powerful attack.

One of the weasels managed to figure out where she was in the smoke, and attempted to charge the lone warden, only to have the vulpix roll onto her side and use their combined momentum to throw the rodent away. Turns out, the nasty little biter collided into the poliwrath, causing it to stagger back.

Martian smiled, that technique looked awfully familiar. . .

The fiery vixen continued to harass her opponents, dodging or countering every attack they threw at her. The hostiles were beginning to lose their cohesion, losing their cool and growing more frustrated by the second.

Pretty soon, they ended up landing hits on each other rather than the lone kitsune. The Magmortar in particular was guilty of friendly fire, first accidently slugging one of the rattata in the head with a Thunder Punch that Scarlett had evaded, the second time it may have been on purpose when his Fire Blast hit the other rattata that jumped into his line of fire.

Two hostiles down, five more to go.

A white hot flamethrower was enough to put some distance between Scarlett and her remaining foes, and a follow up smokescreen allowed her to disappear unseen. That really angered her attackers, as they aggressively split up and fanned out to try and find their common enemy.

The vulpix managed to quickly climb a tree and into the branches, it was an awkward fit since vulpix don't normally climb trees. But that was exactly what she was counting on, and it paid off. All of her opponents were busy looking on the ground for her, none bothered to look up.

"Clever girl," Martian chuckled, "She's learning fast."

One of the weasels unknowingly walked underneath Scarlett's hiding spot allowing the kitsune to get the jump on the hostile. The fox pounced with all of her body weight focused onto the small surface area of the enemy's neck, easily shattering his spine.

Unfortunately, the sound of a snapping neck also gave away her position to the last four hostiles. The Poliwrath in particular was furious, unleashing a Hydro Pump attack that while it missed the fox, snapped the full grown tree behind her like a twig.

Scarlett was able to avoid the severed tree's canopy from falling on top of her as she zigzagged between shrubs and cover. The magmortar and poliwrath were quickly destroying any cover the fox could find with intense flames and extreme pressure, attempting to drive her into the open. The two heavies were quickly chastised by the wolf, but they ignored the canine's words whatever they were.

Scarlett managed to get the jump on the magmortar next, pouncing onto his face and swiping with her claws to inflict whatever damage she could. The scratches didn't do much, but it did enough to convince the larger pokemon to use Lava Plume to force the fox off. The concussive force was enough to repel the vulpix, but she absorbed the heat from the magma midair powering up her own fire based abilities in the process.

Then he got hit with the poliwrath's rushed Hydro Pump. The water/fighting type saw something red and immediately attacked, forgetting to make sure he was aiming at the right fire type. The water hit hard, blasting the large fire type off his feet and into a tree with enough force to easily knock him out cold.

Three left,

The last of the weasels managed to tackle Scarlett from the side, causing both to roll onto the ground until the varmint landed on top of the fire-type. That weasel must not have been the smartest because he paused for a moment and grinned mischievously before he said something rather unpleasant to her.

The vixen responded by piercing his throat with a Metal Claw, forcing him to lose consciousness in moments before rolling over and letting his body slowly slid off of her paw and onto the ground. Blood didn't come blasting out of the open wound but instead drained into his windpipe and lungs, resulting in an actually pretty clean kill. Brutal, but quick and efficient: The way Martian had trained her to fight.

Unfortunately, that's when Scarlett made the mistake that lead to her defeat: A momentary pause to steady herself before jumping back into the fray.

A moment was all that the remaining two hostiles needed.

The wolf collided with the vixen with a Double Edge attack to force her out of cover and into the poliwrath's line of sight. The fire type was still skidding across the ground when she took a direct hit from the water-type's Hydro Pump, launching her off her feet again and into a tree.

Scarlett was able to recover and get back on her feet, tired, drenched, and clearly hurt, but not about to surrender the fight.

Martian smirked with pride, the fox wasn't a petete, fragile, helpless girl anymore. Now she could take damage as much as she could give it out. He'd like to believe that he had a role in that.

The fire-type vixen was ready for when the wolf charged again with Double Edge, leaping over the canine pokemon mid attack. That's when she did something Martian didn't expect to counter the poliwrath's next Hydro Pump:

She froze the water coming from his chest with Ice Beam. Scarlett, a red vulpix, knew Ice Beam.

The frozen obstacle acted like a cork in a bottle, holding back the awful pressure of the water-fighting type's Hydro Pump until it built up to the point it shattered, the recoil sending the poliwrath stumbling backwards.

Sadly, Scarlett left herself open to another Double Edge from the wolf, followed by a barrage of large stones summoned from underground. Each stony projectile smashing the final slivers of strength from the fire type, she had given them a hard fight, but the fight was over.

Scarlett collapsed, leaving the two remaining attackers victorious. Her life at their mercy, or lack of it.

That's when three more pokemon became visible, a Pichu, some sort of water type spider, and a. . .

A ditto, now it all made sense.

Martian paused, taking a moment to close his eyes and take a breath before speaking.

"Scarlett."

"Y-yes?" The vulpix accompanying him meekly replied.

"Where is she?" The former human growled, adrenaline beginning to flow through his veins.

"I-I'm right here," The fox stuttered, "What do you mean where am I?"

"The _real_ Scarlett." Martian growled before spinning about and knocking the imposter's "head" clean off with Iron Tail, letting it spatter against a tree into purple slime. The beheaded "fox" stumbled around before melting into more of the purple slime, leaving Scarlett's vest, relic fragment, and beloved scarf on the ground as it rejoined with the mass from the tree.

The blob reformed it's true form, turning it's expressionless face in the best impression of shock it could muster at the luxio.

"Tell me where your acquaintances took her. Now." Martian growled as he bared his teeth and extended his claws, letting electricity run throughout his entire body. "Do it while you still can. Or I'll fry you until you're a brain-dead smear, nice, slow, and painful."

"It will cost you." The ditto's natural voice smugly warned. "I can't just give away who hired me, that's bad for business."

"Getting yourself killed is also pretty bad for business." Martian growled, "That vulpix that managed to kill at least three of your buddies the other day? I taught her everything. You saw what she could do, do you really want to find out what I can do as well?"

"Alright! Alright! I'll talk! I'll talk!" The spineless pokemon panicked, "It was her mother! Lady Winter! She ordered this!"

"Tell me _Everything."_


	19. The Dungeon

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Nineteen: The Dungeon**

The fire type had managed to get free from the araquanid's silk that her captors had used to bind her paws and tie her muzzle shut, but was still effectively helpless trapped inside a wooden barrel. If it was just the wooden container, Scarlett could have easily busted out and get free. The real problem was that the barrel was held high in the air by a slalamance that was flying the prisoner home. Any attempt to escape would end with her falling to her death.

The vulpix didn't know how long she had been out cold, but when she was captured, Martian only had three days left before he would be released from the healers. That was three days until Martian would learn about her abduction. The ditto would try to trick the luxio, but Scarlett wasn't all that worried. The former human was too smart to fall for that trick, the imposter wouldn't last a day.

Unfortunately, a couple of days flying covers the same amount of distance it would take a pokemon like Martian a whole month at best to cover on foot, meaning her captors effectively had a month's start on him.

Good thing she knew that would only make him even more determined to get her back, Martian wasn't one to quit. If anything, the kitsune almost felt a little sorry for any of her mother's thugs that got in his way.

Almost,

Two days of nonstop flying, trapped in the barrel, and Scarlett could begin to taste the familiar taste of salt in the air. Her stomach twisted: She was back.

The beautiful, sunny tropics below defined what many pokemon desired as a paradise: Soft smooth sand on the beaches, the clean, deep blue ocean, and the overabundance of vegetation in every size and shape, all in bright, eye-catching colors. With a never-ending supply of fresh tropical fruit and complete immunity to any sort of foul weather, the Southern Gulf was the ideal vacation spot for pokemon from every corner of the world.

The local pokemon who called it home definitely help ensure a pleasurable experience for any tourists, everything revolved around the gulf being an oasis of paradise in a cruel, unforgiving world. Buildings were simple huts made of bamboo lattices and straw roofs, flimsy, but without the threat of poor weather, sufficient.

But that didn't really change the darker side of the Southern Gulf, it may be paradise to tourists, but it was far from it for any unfortunate enough to call it home. There was a reason the vulpix ran away from here.

Standing atop a large hill overlooking one of the coastal villages was a set of old human ruins that had been restored by pokemon. From what could be translated from the ancient human texts, it had been a small manor with a defensive fort built around it for protection. Not too dissimilar from its role now.

A mob of pokemon were waiting as the salamance began to land in the courtyard, setting the barrel that contained the captive fox on the ground.

"Be careful, she killed four guys and gave the rest a hard time. Little red flower is a fighter now." The dragon warned as he landed, finally getting a chance to rest his tired wings after such a long time in air.

"Come on, she's just a runt!" One of the yungoos sneered, "How hard can it be?"

Scarlett was quick to answer by breaking out of the barrel and slamming into the grunt head on, knocking him out before he'd even had time to register what was happening. The initial shock of the rest of the thugs was enough to give the vixen a brief moment of hope that she could get free, but the moment she felt psychic energy grip her she knew that moment was up.

"Guess the rumors are true," A tropical Raichu sighed as he hovered on his tail to position himself in front of the kitsune, "Poor Lady Flaris has become a victim of some soulless monster's influence."

"At least this monster didn't sell out his own nest for coin like you did." Scarlett growled, trying to break free. Had she not been trapped in the barrel for days without food or water, she would have had the strength to overcome the raichu's psychic grip.

"He's a luxio, either they live in a pride with others or they are banished rouges, deplorable filth." The psychic mouse whispered.

"Sounds like you know from experience." Scarlett smugly cut the rodent off, causing some of the other thugs gathered around to snicker.

"Not funny." the raichu coldly uttered, instantly losing all desire to poke fun at his captive. Using his power to bring her in closer as he looked her directly in the eyes, beginning to bounce a single thought back and forth across the fox's mind:

 _Sleep. . ._

 **Wardens Eternal**

Martian was unusually quiet as he deposited Scarlett's belongings on the wooden platform once he was finished interrogating the ditto and returned home to prepare. He took his own vest off, despite the difficulty and spread it out alongside his partner's. Silently and methodically he removed everything from both uniforms and sorted out supplies, dumping the current Oran Berries and replacing them with the freshest he could find. Good thing Scarlett had kept their inventory up to date while he was staying at the hospital.

Two Pecha berries for poison, Three Chesto Berries, dumped and refilled canteens, a small wooden travel pan, the map, a roll of white cloth for bandages, a coil of vine, and a handful of luminous orbs. It was going to be a long trek down to the Southern Gulf, and the former human wasn't going to go ill-prepared. With several weeks of supplies secured away, Martian began the process of re-equipping his uniform, tying Scarlett's vest and scarf away on his back for until she was ready to put them back on again.

It was a lot more weight then he was normally used to, but luxury wasn't a benefit he could afford right now, not when his partner was missing. After carefully inspecting his claws for any weakness or flaw the lion closed his eyes and sighed, beginning the long, grueling journey to get his partner back.

"No one gets left behind. Not agian."

 **Wardens Eternal**

"Flaris?"

The sound of her old name was the first thing Scarlett could register after the hazy sensation of hypnosis. The whole world was spinning into an incoherent blur as her temple ached in pain. Her nose was confused by the cocktail of smells, her body felt like it was twisting in impossible ways, all a testament to how the raichu's psychic influence still lingered in her mind.

The first true sign that the vulpix was beginning to overcome her vertigo was when she could feel solid ground under her feet. Little by little, things began to make more sense. The confusing mess of scents began to separate into smells she could identify: Wet moss and grime, stone, and stale air.

The dungeon, of course. She never visited it growing up, but that didn't mean she was ignorant about it.

The kitsune closed her eyes before beginning to stand up slowly, her aching body stinging in protest. Obviously, her mother's thugs had not been concerned about how they handled her when she was out, probably tossing her in down here like a sack of old crops. They certainly didn't treat her like their boss's daughter anymore.

The fox opened her eyes and looked around the dark, damp, stone cell she had awoken in. The stone bricks used in the walls, ceiling, and floor were ancient, hundreds of thousands of years old at least. The rough, unpolished surfaces and all the little puddles and growths of moss were enough to prove that. Some marks bore evidence of past occupants who had tried to claw or dig their way free, to no avail.

That's when she noticed the weight of something around her neck, something noticeably heavier than her scarf and relic fragment, items she had been stripped of when abducted. Something metal.

The near black chain confirmed her suspicions when she found the other end anchored into the ground. Her captors had padlocked a metal color around her neck to prevent her escape. There was no way she could break the chain by brute force, it felt strong enough to even hold up to Martian's attacks. But maybe she could melt the steel?

The metal glowed white-hot under her fire but refused to yield. No matter what she tried to use to weaken the chain, they all archived the same result: no effect.

"M'lady, it's human tempered steel," The voice sadly informed, "For all intents and purposes indestructible unless you're a Legendary."

Scarlett ceased her attempts at breaking free to let her eyes adjust to the overall darkness. After a few seconds of waiting, the kitsune was beginning to be able to see what was beyond the metal bars that made up the last side of her cell. And more importantly, the figure that stood on the other side of said bars.

"Quill?"

"Yes M'lady, I'm sorry."

Quillian, or just Quill for short was the closest thing Scarlett had to real friend for most of her life. The young Dartrix's father, Decidueye, was chief of staff under Scarlett's mother, and expected his son to follow in his footsteps. Maybe it was because they were both held back by their parents, but the young lady and manservant grew to see each other as friends and confidants.

Probably the biggest secret they shared was what role the young butler played in Scarlett's success running away. It was Quillian who snuck into storage and got the vulpix her scarf, some food he managed to sneak out of the kitchen, and most importantly: the key to the windows in her room. Without his help, the kitsune would have never escaped in the first place.

"It's good to see you again Quill," Scarlett admitted, "How did my mother find me?"

"Couriers M'lady," The owl quietly explained, "When word about the mysterious but powerful Wardens taking down a high profile outlaw got here, your mother ordered Mimikyu to take some pokemon and capture the "Dangerous Dame." I don't know how she knew it was you."

"Then it's not your fault Quill, you didn't rattata me out." The vixen assured, "What are you so sorry about?"

"I can't get you out of this." The dartrix sadly explained, "I can't help you escape this time, your mother has the only key to your collar. I can't do anything to help you escape, most I can do is bring you fresh food and water every day until Mimikyu gets back. After that, I won't even be able to get into the dungeons anymore."

"I understand Quill, and thank you." Scarlett calmly spoke before smirking a little, "And don't worry about me, I don't need to escape this time. I just have to wait."

"Wait for who?" the puzzled bird questioned, "Your partner the luxio?"

"Yeah, Martian." the young vixen confirmed, "He'll be here sooner or later. He isn't one to give up."

"I . . . I hope so M'lady." The owl sighed before turning his head around to quickly look towards the only exit. "I must beg my leave M'lady, I can't neglect my other duties."

"I know, and thank you for doing what you can." Scarlett sighed. As soon as the butler disappeared up the stairs the vixen began searching her cell for the most comfortable place to lay down. The old grimy stone bricks were far from the ideal place to sleep, but in the absence of any straw or cloth for bedding it would have to do.

All she needed to do is wait.

 **Wardens Eternal**

The sound of old hinges followed by footsteps and whimpering was enough to stir the captive vulpix from her attempt at a nap. It didn't take long for her to see what was happening: A Gumshoos and Machoke entered the dungeon, the fighting type holding a small lapras in his grip. Scarlett couldn't help but look at her paws in shame as the two brutes opened another cell and locked the young water type inside.

This may have been the first time the vulpix had seen one of her mother's lackies lock someone up for ransom, but that didn't mean she never knew about it before now. The truth made Scarlett feel sick beyond description, the constant looming shame that even indirectly, she prospered on other people's suffering. The only thing worse than not having anything growing up is knowing that what you have was wrongfully obtained.

Running away had been a choice that had haunted her, that little voice in the back of her head reprimanding her for leaving these pokemon to suffer at her mother's paws. It was selfish, only caring about herself and forgetting what she had left behind. Who she had left behind. But at the time, what else could she have done?

What else could she do now?

While truthfully it had only been maybe three seasons since she ran away to now, everything she had learned since made it feel like it happened a lifetime ago. Maybe in a way, that wasn't completely wrong: Flaris had walked into that mystery dungeon on the beach after those two thieves, but that timid and defenceless fox never walked out. A totally different vulpix did in her place, a confident, compassionate kitsune willing and able to do what was right.

Who knows? Maybe that timid vulpix is still somewhere in that dungeon? Someone might have to go in after her. Joking aside, Scarlett began to realize why she had been dragged back here. Fate had given her a chance to redeem herself, to do now what she couldn't back then: Free the pokemon of the Southern Gulf.

The first step was to give hope, she would have to wait until she could do the next step. . .


	20. Mirror Image

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Twenty: Mirror Image**

Day sixteen, but nowhere near close to the objective. The frustration continued to boil underneath Martian's fur as he continued to march towards the Southern Gulf. So far the only thing he could do was just that: travel at a pace that allowed him to cover the most ground without tiring himself out too much. That said, he was very close to walking himself to death. No distractions, no detours, no more stopping than absolutely necessary, not even for a full night's sleep or to clean the blood from the prey he ate off of his muzzle and paws.

Most of the pokemon he passed on the roads treated him with suspicion, but moved out of his way and let him pass. Mostly out of the fear that they might just find out whose blood was dried into his fur and add to it. Maybe there was a part of him that regretted intimidating those pokemon, especially those who thought that he might go after their children, but he ignored it. Nothing mattered but the mission, nothing.

At least the blood convinced more than a few bandits to not try and hold him up. If it wasn't for the mission he would have engaged all of them on the way, but nothing mattered except the mission. That said, he did intervene when he encountered a group of brigands holding up a lone traveler. A life-threatening mistake.

The Warden managed to keep silent as he stalked into position behind his first target: The kabutops and likely leader of this band of thieves. The rock/water type was dead before it could even attempt to fight back, first it's legs got swept out from under him causing him to fall backwards, followed by the sight of the luxio standing over him lashing out with Metal Claw. The attack smashed through the stoney exoskeleton on the victim's neck, letting a torrent of blue blood empty out onto the ground.

The rest of the bandits were stunned by the surprise takedown, only regaining movement when the luxio roared displaying his blood-stained jaws. Most chose to flee as fast as they could, though an ekans knowing it couldn't outrun the lion did try to hold its ground by coiling in place and shaking it's rattle.

The electric and poison types squared off, both reluctant to make the first move. Eventually, the snake went on the offensive, rearing up and spitting out a spray of acid. Martian shielded himself with Protect, letting the fluid splash against his circular barrier before using the shield to force the snake back.

That's when he made an error. The warden's sleep-deprived mind misjudged the distance between the two combatants, causing the luxio to bash too early. The ekans was quick to identify and seize the opportunity and struck from the safety of his coil, lodging its poisonous fangs deep into the luxio's arm.

The former human roared in painful fury before gripping the base of the snake's head between his own jaws, applying as much strength as he could alongside electric shocks to try and dislodge the serpent from his arm. Thankfully, the luxio managed to crush the snake's spine in his jaws before the venom in his bloodstream finished him off. Weakly, the lion was able to pry open the dead poison-type's jaws and remove its fangs from his flesh.

He had to work fast, he could already feel the venom's effects in his body as he managed to dig out a pair of Pecha berries. First one he managed to weakly deposit in his mouth and force himself to chew, the second was weakly crushed into a pulp and heavily smeared it in and around the bite.

Consciousness was rapidly fading, with his sleep deprivation only amplifying the effects of the venom. Already everything beyond himself had faded into darkness as Martian continued to struggle with his injuries. The last thing he could remember doing was draping a linen cloth over his arm but ultimately fainted before he could finish the bandage. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

Keeping track of time had been difficult down in the basement without any means of viewing sunlight to establish the difference between night and day. Days without much activity becoming a state of near-perpetual boredom only broken up by the "guards" coming into the prison after varying amounts of time to add or remove child prisoners in accordance to the state of their ransoms.

Quillian was a welcome distraction, bringing some food that was at least more tolerable than the occasional pan of slop the guards would leave her. Unfortunately, the owl could only sneak in a limited amount of roasted fish or berries to give. If he could have smuggled enough food without raising suspicion, Scarlett would have asked him to share at least a little with all of the kids locked in the dungeon.

The guards thought that they had won, sneering and insulting the vixin every time they had passed her cell. After all, she was just a runt, how much trouble could she be trapped in the dungeon? It's not like she could break the collar around her neck or escape, all it would take is some time and even the most optimist of pokemon to give in to despair.

Scarlett played along, biding her time while playing the part of the helpless damsel. Pretending to break down and pitifully sob when guards were present, setting a trap and dangling the bait for her intended target. All she had to do was keep up the act until it was time to spring the trap.

It was easy to hear the huge, heavy, wooden door up the stairs to the outside world when it opened or closed, providing plenty of advanced warning to the occupants of the dungeon. A sound that Scarlett took advantage of as a sign to resume her charade. Normally it was a guard patrol, but this time the sound of the old hinges was accompanied by a couple of familiar telltale sounds.

She took the bait.

Scarlett couldn't help but smirk at the fact as she curled up and pretended to whimper, continuing to listen to the sounds of her quarry. The soft clicking of glass beads colliding with each other, the soft tapping sound of paws walking against the stone floor, and most importantly: the voice that gave a particular disgusted scoff. No mistaking it now, it was definitely her.

The captured warden's quarry paused at the top of the stairs, hesitating for a moment before pushing one of its accompanying steenee maidservants down the steps. Scarlett couldn't help but wince as the poor girl stumbled onto the floor. The grass type quickly got back on her feet, dusted some of the dirt off her skirt, and quickly began cleaning away as much of the loose dirt and filth off the dungeon floor in front of Scarlett's cell.

A minute later, and Scarlett's greatest obstacle sat elegantly just on the other side of the metal bars, smirking with sadistic glee.

"Hello, _Sister_ "

Meet Glacia: Spoiled brat, Lady Winter's daughter and worst of all: Scarlett's twin sister.

Maybe twin wasn't the right word, they both shared their origin, gender, and base species, but that was where the similarities ended. Ever since birth, the two had been mirror opposites in all aspects: personality, visually, and even their typing. It was a little confusing for Scarlett, how both her mother and sister were ice types, yet she herself was a fire type. From what the red vulpix could figure out, she had inherited her typing from her father (who was also a fire type) before he ran away and abandoned his family.

The real difference between the sisters was in their behaviors and values. Scarlett had always valued friendship and helping those in need, (although until lately she was too cowardly to actually do anything about it) Glacia on the other paw, she'd been raised thinking that the world was there to serve her, never the other way around. Basically, Glacia believed that only she deserved the luxuries of prosperity, Scarlett wanted prosperity shared equally with those who've worked for it.

Problem was, it was obvious which one Mother favored. Glacia had a habit of bullying and overshadowing her sister, forcing her to stay in the background. Scarlett always felt bad knowing that all of her possessions were actually forcefully taken from their legitimate owners. Glacia couldn't be more happy about it and went out of her way to make the most of it. Whatever Glacia wanted, Mother made sure she got it and more.

The glass beads Glacia always wore were an excellent example: The white vulpix got herself several flawless glass beads that she would braid into her fur as a form of jewelry just to show off her wealth. After a few weeks, the beads were not pretty enough anymore, so she got a new set custom made for her. They only lasted a few days until they too lost their appeal. After years, Glacia's room was stuffed with baskets and boxes filled to the brim with discarded, yet still valuable smooth pieces of glass. Then Glacia complained about how her room was getting crowded, so most of those containers were moved and stacked in Scarlett's significantly smaller room.

Just another reason Scarlett had to run away, and another reason to come back.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this my sweet little sister," Glacia began to sarcastically mock, "Why did you run away from our home? What could a life groveling in filth with the rest of these. . . peasants give you that you didn't already have?"

Time to drop the act, and knock the spoiled brat off her pedestal. This was going to feel good.

"Hm, a lot. Don't know if I can just list them off the top of my head." Scarlett smugly replied as she stood up. Was she imagining things or was Glacia actually shorter then she remembered?

"Let's see, that life is tough, and it has been painful on more than a few occasions, but it's rewards are more than worth it. Truth is Sister, my time out there in that filth as you call it, made me realize how much I pity you." Scarlett summarized with a grin, knowing that it would strike Glacia right where it hurts: her ego.

Glacia visibly recoiled in disbelief, nobody had dared to talk back with that tone or even consider talking back at all. She was nobility! Pokemon were to mind their manners and etiquette around her! The only time someone was to speak at all was if she allowed it. To have that law broke in front of dozens of peasant children to witness it was bad enough, it would encourage other pokemon to challenge her if the guards didn't clean up the mess fast enough.

The real terrifying thing was that it was Flaris who challenged her and the realization that the red vulpix was no longer afraid of her. If Flaris, the most miserable and easy to intimidate could overcome her fears and rise to challenge her, then almost any pokemon could.

She could feel all of her influence and power rapidly decay, her entire image shuttered ominously. If Glacia didn't take back control of the situation and fast, everything would be destroyed.

"That's a lot of talk from a runt who has to settle for eating vermin raw and unrefined for a living." Glacia sneered, "Absolutely disgusting, where are the fine spices and roasts that I am brought every day? How do your scrawny pickings compare to that?"

"At least I can secure food for myself." Scarlett countered, "Can you find food that isn't placed in front of you on a patter? Do you know where to look for berries? Meat? How about clean water?"

Glacia was about to argue, but Scarlett wasn't going to give her the chance.

"Want to know why I pity you so much? You're a prisoner to your own selfish ignorance!" Scarlett exclaimed, "Yeah, I might be the one with a chain locked around my neck, but you are the one who's actually trapped here. You can only survive here at the estate, have you ever spent one night outside of the walls? Your entire life and the furthest you've traveled is the closest village? Only seeing the same things you've seen a hundred times before."

"Oh please," The white vulpix rolled her eyes while waving a paw, "Is this the part where you tell me that real treasure are things like sunsets and working together and all of that worthless talk?"

"Don't take it lightly sister," The red vixen warned, "Treasure isn't judged by how much something costs in coin. Real treasure sister, is achievement. A reminder of some challenge however large or small: History, wisdom, a means to better ourselves. Milestones in our legacy of success and of our failures. Something to unite us, a cause to rally together behind. It's what gives life purpose, in the hands of those who value it."

"And how is your life's purpose doing for you so far?" Glacia mocked, trying to hide her growing doubts,

"Oh," Scarlett shrugged, prodding the lock to her cell casually with her paw. The latch was easy to work without the key once she figured it out opening the cell door, "Better than you think."

Glacia's flawlessly groomed and clean fur coat fell into chaos as frizzy strands of fur shot out everywhere on her body. Now she truly was powerless with nothing to protect her, and that terrified her.

"Don't worry," Scarlett smirked as she closed the cell door as if nothing happened, "I'm not going to hurt you Sister, I pity you, not hate you. You better run off now and go fix your fur, I think I see a little dirt on your cheek, go on, shoo." Scarlett finished, half-heartedly dismissing her sister, knowing full well the ice type hated not having the final word.

Glacia stood silent for a few seconds, twitching in disbelief as she tried to comprehend what just happened. The white-furred brat pouted as loud as she could and angrily stormed up the stairs, her image ruined. Shouting one final threat before stomping her way outside.

"We'll see what's more valuable when your Beloved shows up, little sister!"


	21. Interventions

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Twenty-One: Interventions**

Glacia hadn't dare show her face since the last visit, instead having some of the guards deliver her insults for her. Scarlett really didn't care anyway, ignoring the repetitive and uninspired remarks. It didn't take long for the guards to realize she had managed to pick the lock to her cell after she dragged a few guards in to teach them a lesson.

Unfortunately, the lock on her collar proved to be far more difficult, the internal mechanisms too small and precise to manipulate with just her claw. It could only be opened by the key, the key her mother had.

To make things worse, Mimikyu, Lycanroc, Polywrath, Dewpider, and Magmortar, the pokemon that had ambushed the warden outside of Treasure Town were back. Mimikyu wasted no time resuming her duties as Lady Winter's chief jailer and interrogator, once she ditched her dirty costume for a clean one that was.

Quillian was right, with Mimikyu back in position, the dartix couldn't get into the dungeon anymore. No more edible food or news from outside the dungeon's walls. If there was to be a silver lining with Mimikyu's return, it meant that Martian was only three days behind. It was almost over. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

Pain.

The first thing he identified was the pain throughout his body, but in his line of work, it was a welcome sign. It meant that he was still alive.

Martian groaned as he regained both feeling and control of his body, converting the pain to a still uncomfortable, but manageable aching soreness. The lion instinctively rolled onto his stomach as his eyes adjusted to the light, the first clear thing to enter his vision was his bandaged leg.

The fight! The former human didn't know for sure what happened after he collapsed, or if the bandits survived their own injuries. Until he knew otherwise, the fight was still on, and he would fight it with everything he had. A fresh surge of adrenaline dulled the pain and renewed his strength as he forcefully pushed himself off the ground with a fierce growl, ready to continue the fight.

The first hostile didn't take long to present itself, the darkness obscured the details, but it was twice as big as the former human and holding an aggressive posture. To the Warden, that was enough to confirm a threat, and the luxio wasn't going to wait for it to attack first.

Martian charged head-on with Metal Claw and bared teeth, trying to quickly close the distance. The hostile managed to sidestep and deflect the attack with ease, only to find out too late that the electric type had predicted that action and readied an Iron Tail to smash into his face as the Warden leaped past him.

The attacker stumbled for a moment before steadying himself, standing on his knuckles before lifting one shaggy brown arm up to inspect his now blooded nose. The sight of the crimson liquid angered him, causing him to quickly pound his chest and charge the luxio. The former human readied himself as the hostile's fist came down in a slashing motion, he might not be able to block it with his shield, but he could use that momentum to his advantage. Using his shoulder as a pivot point, Martian grabbed the attacking limb and pulled downwards, effectively throwing the much larger pokemon over his shoulder and into a wall.

In retaliation, the pokemon grabbed Martian by the leg and threw him through the straw mat covering the doorway and into the street outside. The warden tumbled and rolled a few times before managing to find traction and stay standing, roaring in defiance.

Question was, in defiance of what? Out in the daylight, the Warden was finally able to see things for what they were far better than in the confines of whatever he woke up in. All the pokemon nearby seemed to be terrified of _him_ and running for safety. As the realization set in, his opponent, a large slaking, finally exited the house.

"Your fight's over Kid, welcome to Respite Basin."

 **Wardens Eternal**

"Sorry about attacking you earlier." Martian apologized once things began to settle down.

"Yeah well, I don't blame you. Judging by how the boys found you, you had to have been fighting like the void with those bandits." The Slaking shrugged, "Pups said you were a good fighter, had to admit I was curious just how good you were." The normal type paused to check if his nose was still bleeding before smirking, "They were not wrong."

"Pups?" The Luxio pressed.

"Ah, the Poochyena Brothers," Skaking clarified, "An exploration team that comes into town every now and again."

"Oh I remember them," Martian admitted, "They were some of the reinforcements back on Mt. Bristle after we engaged Drowzee, and crossed paths with them a couple of times in Treasure Town."

"Well, you definitely have their respect from one team to another. Enough that when they found you by the road two of them stayed behind to guard you, make sure a bandit didn't come back to finish you off while one ran here and got me." Skaking explained, "I carried you back here and put you in that vacant house for your recovery once the healer got done cleaning you up. You were definitely a mess."

"How long was I out?" The Warden asked, as grateful as he was for everything, there was still the mission.

"Two weeks," The elder reluctantly admitted, "You got someplace you need to be Son?"

Martian growled at the delay before answering, "The Southern Gulf, my partner was abducted and taken there. I'm getting her back."

"I know that tone, so I'm not going to try and stop you." Skaking sighed, "The safest route there is another three weeks travel on foot, one and a half if you catch a caravan train. The quickest way would be through the Mossy Swamps, but the pokemon down there are not the most receptive to travelers. That will cut it down to anywhere between three or seven days, depending on how nasty the path is."

"Thanks, I'd pay for everything you did for me but I'm short on coin, didn't need the weight." The warden apologized, "I need to get moving."

"Eh, consider it a favor from a retired adventurer to an active one." Skaking shrugged, "Before you go there is something else I want to give you, some of my old stuff. Not much use to me anymore, but you could definitely use them if you're going to go through the swamp."

The normal type walked over to an old chest nearby before blowing some of the dust off and lifting the lid, revealing several small glass like orbs and baked clay balls.

"Help yourself kid, got some Luminous orbs, a few Fresh and Phase ones, and a bunch of different pots. Just be careful that you don't break them or breathe any of the spores in, supposed to get the other guy to breathe 'em in."

"I'll put them to good use," Martian promised as he began selecting new additions to his arsenal, examining each orb and pot before placing them in the appropriate pocket on his vest before nodding his thanks once again to his host and exiting the house. A brief look at the map and the roads and he was on his way again stopping only briefly to replace his Oran Berries with new ones and top off his waterskin. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

The children's terrified screams kept Scarlett from sleeping, but with the chain around her neck, she wasn't sure she could do anything about it. Mimikyu took absolute joy in using her powers to terrify the children without actually touching them, toying with the kids through shadows and illusions. Scarlett couldn't take it anymore, stood up and opened the cell door before walking out as far as the chain let her.

"That's enough you sick ragdoll!" Scarlett roared her challenge down the hall, and soon the children's screaming stopped followed by a short pause.

The darkness began to swirl and twist, several tentacle-like appendages began to snake out stopping just short of reaching the fox. Mimikyu's distorted voice darkly chuckled.

"Oh? And what do you think you can do about it, sweetheart? Better get back in your cage before you wet yourself, dear, that would be so unbecoming of you."

"Come and make me, unless you're afraid you might wet yourself too." Scarlett retorted. Truth be told the young vixen was more than a little nervous, but she couldn't let these kids down. She had to be brave.

"Guards put this fool back in her cell. This is beneath me." The jailer sighed, signaling two yungoos to take care of the annoyance. When the two approached, one was knocked out by a single blow to the face, the second got his head stuck in the bars, unable to pull himself free.

"I'm not a fool, I'm a Warden." Scarlett corrected, enjoying the feeling that just saying those words gave her. Nervousness was gone. The fox could feel as everyone (well, everyone except for the two down weasels that was.) focused their attention on her. Before she looked to others for inspiration and strength, now others looked to her.

". . . Very well then," the ghost type finally responded, before the tentacles shot out to surround the vulpix. "As you WISH!"

The moment the shadowy limbs completely enveloped her, Scarlett release a small tornado of flames, destroying the appendages with ease. The fire's light was just enough to pick out Mimikyu's costume against the shadow limbs. Flamethrower hit it directly, illuminating the entire dungeon in a hot orange glow. The children were simply in awe.

Scarlett finally stopped her flamethrower, and couldn't help but smirk as the yellow costume continued to combust, the cloth and wooden tail continuing to crackle and burn. It took a moment for the ghost type to realize it's situation, scrambling to discard the flammable disguise and retreat back into the darkness. A few seconds and the once impressive costume was reduced to cinders.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Mimikyu shrieked in pure rage if there was one thing the ghost/fairy type loved more then traumatizing kids without actually hurting them, it was its beloved collection of realistic disguises. Damaging one was practically begging to be killed in a truly horrifying fashion. To destroy one, even those that lived in the void had reason to be afraid of its fury.

The entire dungeon was consumed by darkness, the furious torturer preparing to unleash its absolute fury in a single, all-consuming, blow.

"Except you can't!" Scarlett called out, and the ghost's omnipresent form hesitated, stopping for a moment.

"You need me alive because my mother needs me alive." Scarlett reasoned, "If she just wanted me dead you would have killed me back in Treasure Town, instead she allowed you to divert people and resources to bring me back alive, and in good condition. So if you are okay with interfering with Mother's plans for the sake of a rag, come and get me."

The all-consuming presence remained silent for at least a few minutes, contemplating its options as well as their consequences. It was unbearable, but the fire vixen was right. If Mimikyu actually hurt Scarlett, Lady Winter would kill it for interfering with her plans. There was nothing it could do to the fox and live to tell the tale.

The furious jailor unleashed the loudest and most terrifying screech possible before abandoning the dungeon and slipping up the stairs to the exit. Another screech followed after the ghost opened the door, both barking orders and agonizing at the feeling of sunlight against its unshielded body. The costumes were just as much to protect Mimikyu from the sun as much as it was a disguise.

Four or five yungoos came in to restore order to the dungeon, rushing down the stairs as a group. They were confident, they didn't know about what would happen if they hurt her, they outnumbered her, and she was still chained to the floor of her cell. They thought it was going to be easy.

They thought wrong.

The chain around her neck, the one thing that really limited her abilities, ironically served to help her in the fight, allowing her to trip, closeline, and tangle up the goons. Soon three of the weasels retreated up the stairs, leaving two of their comrades, as well as the previous two guards, unconscious and unable to fend for themselves.

Scarlett found it a lot easier to sleep, listening to all the children excitedly whisper and giggle at what they had just witnessed. These kids were no longer afraid, no longer scared, all because a Warden intervened. . .


	22. A Promise

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Twenty-two: A Promise**

The area now known as the Mossy Swamps weren't always the scummy marsh they are today. Up until rather recently, it had been referred to as the Mossy Forest, a thick, cool, woodland that housed a Mystery Dungeon deep within its trees. The road through was fairly popular, providing shade and a place to restock as opposed to the exposed open roads across the plains.

At least it was before the landslide that dammed up the river, flooding the forest. Eventually, the forest drowned, and the swamp took its place, leaving it to be forgotten by the outside world. The old road was still there for the most part but submerged underneath at least a couple feet of murky water topped with a thin layer of pond scum. So yes, it was traversable if you didn't mind wading through "less then clean" waters, and the bugs.

Martian could care less about the water quality, considering how easy he managed to move through it, it was almost like it wasn't there, failing to impede his pace in the slightest. Nothing mattered except the mission, not even the murky filth soaking into his fur and uniform.

The ambient noise was not the most welcoming, the constant buzzing of bug types flying around, the eerie sound of Phantump making their way through the dead trees, and the occasional sudden snap of Carnivine's mouth, the sound that signaled the capture of prey.

The one thing Martian couldn't ignore, however, was the subtle ripples occasionally making their way in his direction, as well as the occasional reptilian hiss. There was no denying the fact that the warden was being watched, and by no small number of eyes. Or the fact that one set of eyes felt, well, hungry. Someone or something was stalking the former human, _hunting_ him.

For a while, the predator seemed to be keeping its distance, biding its time and subtly following the lone explorer, lurking, swimming just underneath the surface of the water. Martian paused for a moment, and his stalker froze in place to avoid giving away its position. The lone electric type reached for a pot stored on his uniform, making sure that he could quickly get to the item if need be.

There was a figure on the path a little further ahead, just sitting in the shallow water, completely oblivious to the approaching warden. When approaching, Martian was able to identify the stranger as a crogunk crouching over an area of water just off the path, it's poisonous cheeks continuing to pump. The poison/fighting type was unmarked, that is it didn't wear any sort of accessory to signal it's sentient intelligence. That meant it was feral, a wild animal, and a potential attacker. The warden braced for conflict.

The feral didn't even turn to look at the luxio, staying completely frozen in place except for its cheeks. In the blink of an eye, it used Poison Jab into the water in front of it, recalling its arm with its prey in hand, a single poliwag. With its hunt successful the crogunk leapt into the trees, prize in hand, not once even looking at the intruder. Martian sighed, exhaling all of his built up tension.

That was a mistake, made it all the more easy for his stalker, a feraligatr to shoot up out of the swamp and knock the electric type down, quickly pinning the former human's head under the water in an attempt to drown him. Martian instinctively tried to resurface, but the large water type's powerful arm kept him down, forcing him to gag as the swamp raced down his throat. For a brief moment, the feraligatr's weight shifted off of him, not enough to break free entirely, but enough that Martian was able to grab the pot off of his uniform and smash it into the reptile's face.

The ceramic ball shattered, releasing a small cloud of finely ground peppers and glass powder mixed with ash, all almost directly into the feral's eye. The massive jaw pokemon roared in pain as it stumbled back, futilely trying to remove the inflammatory substances from its eye releasing the luxio in the process.

The moment Martian managed to get his head back above the water's surface, he began to choke and cough, getting rid of as much of the water as he could out of his lungs. The feraligatr, blinded and frenzied by pain, wasn't going to give the lion time to recover, lunging with snapping jaws at the sound of gagging. For a few minutes, the fight was reduced to having Martian evade the blind attacks of the much larger opponent and try to cough up whatever he could out of his lungs when possible.

That was until the reptile gave the former human an opportunity, having reared up in preparation to lunge forward again, exposing its belly and neck. Duel Metal Claw easily tore through the water type's thick scales as Martian unleashed his anger, savagely mauling the larger opponent until he managed to sever the artery in the neck. With a quick roll, the warden evaded as the feraligatr collapsed forward, no longer able to fight or try to drown the former human anymore.

No longer in eliminate danger, Martian took the next few minutes to try and finish coughing up any water left in his body. Once satisfied, he took another look at the deceased reptile. Just to make sure it was actually dead and not planning to jump back up and start the fight all over again. Unlikely yes, but having been preoccupied with his airways during the fight, Martian could have easily missed something.

It was about then that Martian heard his stomach growl, requesting food. The truth was, the lion hadn't had any real food since his collapse, sure the healer as Respite Basin kept him alive with a mix of berries and plants during his recovery, but luxios were primarily carnivores, they needed to eat meat.

Thankfully, there was a generous supply of fresh meat right next to him, more than enough to suit his needs. Other pokemon may have been repulsed from the idea, but the Feraligatr was unmarked, therefore by law, it was okay to eat it. Had the pokemon been wearing any sort of accessory or uniform, signaling it's intelligent status, then the law would conder it cannibalism. Besides, the bastard tried to kill him. It was a bit of an annoyance, trying to separate the edible meat from the rest of the carcass, and even then the meat was difficult to tear, chew, and swallow.

After about an hour, Martian had been able to eat his fill and was ready to move on, taking a moment to reorientate himself before continuing on.

 **Wardens Eternal**

Word must have gotten around fairly fast, seemed like all of the brutes and thugs were far more than reluctant to go anywhere near the red vulpix down in the dungeon. Most of the so-called guards spent their entire shift packed upstairs in an effort to stay as far away from the fire type as possible.

Unfortunately, that made it impossible to tell the length of time. All Scarlett could do was wait, sleep, and tell stories to the children around her. She told them in detail about the hero closing in on the gulf, a warrior who was only equaled in battle by legendary pokemon and the human knights of old. The one pokemon that turned Scarlett from a helpless coward into the courageous and impressive vixen she was now.

The children gobbled the stories right up without a second thought, the guards who overheard the tales were quick to dismiss the claims as exaggerations and empty threats at first, an attempt to scare them. Thing was, the more they thought about it, the less outlandish it sounded.

If there was one thing that was true in Scarlett's claims, it was that someone had trained her, someone turned the whimpering, powerless, runaway into a skilled and powerful fighter as proven by Mimikyu's defeat. That was for certain. If she could do that with less than three seasons of training, just imagine what someone with an entire life's worth of that same training could do.

It sounded impossible, but it happened. Most of the grunts began to doubt their own confidence against such an opponent. Exaggeration or not, this hero, this warrior, was no doubt formidable enough to warrant no small amount of concern. Like how poison saps a victim's strength from within, those thoughts, those fears, took their toll on morale. The normally cruel and ruthless brigands had noticeably weakened under the weight of their doubts. Lady Winter's Iron Paw had loosened its grip on Southern Gulf.

That fact did not go unnoticed by the innocent population of the tropical beach town. Almost all of them were unaware of what exactly had transpired in the dungeon, the few that did refuse to spread the rumors. Nothing good happened to anyone who tried to start a rebellion against the ninetails in the estate. It was best to just keep your head down and not get involved, inaction may not improve their situation, but hopefully, it will stop it from getting worse.

Still, someone or something shook up the muscle, just enough to uncover a thin sliver of hope. But that was before the guests arrived, and renewed the pokemon's plight well into the dark of night. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

A distinct chill in the air stirred Scarlett awake, a familiar chill. The old hinges of the door outside groaned and squeaked in protest as the heavy hatch into the upstairs of the dungeon was opened. It was finally happening, at last. Scarlett had hoped Martian would have been with her for this, but that wasn't the case.

The first to come down the stairs to the cells were two of the Machoke bodyguards, each wearing simple and crude metal armor on their fronts and backs and equipped with ancient human swords. The insulting ripoffs of the human warriors were followed by a pair of Steenee maidservants, Quillian (who couldn't bear to make eye contact with Scarlett), and Quill's father Decidueye before the real visitor finally walked down the stairs.

"Flaris,"

Standing outside the bars, adorned in her silver and sapphire circlet, white lace vest and blue beads was a white ninetails, Lady Winter, Scarlett's mother. The elder vixen's tone was absent of emotion of any nature, not rage, not love, not disappointment, nor approval. Her voice was just empty.

"Not anymore _Mother_ " The fire type corrected, "I go by the name Scarlett now, I am my own person."

"Regardless, it's time." Lady Winter continued, "Will you behave yourself or do I need you subdued during the setup?" The ice type questioned, lifting a paw to reveal a key. The key to the collar around the vulpix's neck.

"No, you don't." Scarlett sighed, "I won't resist."

True to her word, Scarlett didn't attempt to break free once one of the Machoke removed the heavy iron collar from around her neck, and continued to comply as they lead her out of the dungeon and back into the world outside. The vulpix hadn't abandoned hope and accepted defeat however, she was just waiting for the right moment to strike.

The world was illuminated by moonlight when the red vixen emerged from the dungeon into the courtyard, though the orange horizon implied that dawn wasn't too far away. The party of eight moved through the courtyard to the stairs leading to the main hall before they stopped.

"It's time for you to start getting ready." Lady Winter commanded, "The Steenee already know what to do so you are to follow their lead. And just to make sure you don't try anything one of my Machoke guards will escort you while you prepare. Go."

Scarlett continued to comply as the Steenee led the vulpix away, with the machoke right behind her. They arrived at one of the guest chambers, and the servants opened the doors to reveal more servants ready to carry out their duties. The maids managed to convinced the guard to wait outside closed doors while they addressed their tasks, including bathing the vulpix.

Scarlett was embarrassed and hesitant at first, she could bathe herself fine without having everyone in the room watching, but it was clear that she had no say in the matter. After spending over a month in a dungeon, a chance to bathe was too good to pass up.

Once the bath was finished it was time for the steenee to start grooming the vulpix's fur until her coat was smooth and clean. Next was the food, what was her mother planning spoiling her like this?

It was difficult not to just swallow the entire supply of proper food whole after her previous diet of slop, but the fire vixen tried her hardest to resist, trying to convince the maids to have at least some of the food themselves so she didn't feel selfish eating in front of them. At first they politely refused, sighting that it was forbidden for staff to eat in the presence of their superiors or guests. The last thing they wanted was to give Lady Winter a reason to fire them, or worse.

That said, Scarlett managed to persuade at least a few of them to at least have a few bites to eat. They were still hesitant, and admittedly quite confused. Most of the steenee had slaved away tending to Lady Glacia for years grew used to the spoiled brat's selfishness and cruel nature. Scarlett's genuine compassion and concern for them was the exact opposite, shattering expectations.

Regardless, they still had instructions to follow. And in came the jewelry and lace.

"What exactly is this about?" Scarlett finally asked, unable to keep her curiosity quiet any longer, "What's being set up?"

". . . Your. . . Your engagement to your boyfriend M'lady." One of the maids reluctantly sighed before resuming to fit some of the rubies on Scarlett's head.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Scarlett objected as she poorly tried to suppress a sudden embarrassed blush before she made the connection, suddenly paling. "We're not talking about the same guy are we?"

"I fear so M'lady," Another maid confirmed, "An Emboar Nobel from overseas has given much coin and treasure to Lady Winter in exchange for your marriage to his son. You are to be given away at sunrise today. I'm so sorry M'lady."

"It's not going to happen," The vulpix promised, "This, everything my mother is doing, it's going to end today. I will stop it, even if I die trying, I will succeed. I know there have been uprisings against my mother before, Walrein, Incineroar, Fearow, I know what happened to them."

The young kitsune paused before taking a breath to collect her thoughts.

"I know it sounds like something out of fairy-tales, the myths about how one human with a single warcry would summon ten more, and each one would be able to fight like a hundred men. It sounds impossible, but I've seen it happen before. I think I know how they did it."

"H-how?" One of the steenee managed to finally whisper, the rest were still silent with hopeful awe. There was just something, sincere about the vulpix's words, something that was calming but still held a sense of stern authority. Authority that was superior to that of Lady Winter.

"You'll know it when you'll feel it. . ."

 **Wardens Eternal**

Daybreak

Scarlett hesitated for a brief moment in the sunlight as it drove the darkness away. She was running out of time, her hope was that Martian would have showed up by now, ready to lend his support when she faced her mother. But the vulpix couldn't wait for him any longer.

The walk up the stairs towards the main hall was slow, each step growing heavy with the weight of the responsibility she had sworn to uphold. The sudden barrage of catcalls directed at her did help take her mind off of her growing dread, causing her to instead focus on the disgusting insults and sarcastic compliments and farewells she was receiving from the local thugs plus some scraggy and scrafty. The dark/fighting types must have accompanied the buyers here from overseas.

Two sword wielding Machoke stood guard at the doorway, sarcastically bowing to the vulpix before opening the door to let her and the maids in.

Glacia was looking as smug as ever, sneering at her sister before pouting and walking away. No doubt looking for a better angle to see Scarlett being sold off. Quillian looked sympathetic but quickly snapped back into posture when his dad tapped his shoulder. And there was Poliwrath, or what was left of his corpse sealed in ice. Laying on her raised bed in the center was the ice queen herself: Lady Winter.

"Dad! I told you I wanted a Braixen! Not a vulpix!"

"I got you a fire type fox for your birthday, close enough."

And here come the buyers. A large brutish Emboar walked in, pushing a Pignite forward with one hand. The Pignite seemed to be about her age, maybe a season or two older, and a literal snot nosed brat. First thing the younger hog did was wipe his nose on his arm, smearing his snot all over it before flicking the slime onto the floor as it began to burn.

"Like I can actually do anything fun with her! I wanted a Braixen slave!" The Pignite complained as he sneered and walked around Scarlett.

"I already paid for her Boy, We're taking her home with us. Maybe in a few months you can trade her for a Braxien." The Emboar suggested his patience running thin.

What a bunch of slobs

"Fine! I came all this way, might as well be for something" The brat finally agreed, taking a few steps forward before reaching out to grab Scarlett's chin. The vulpix shifted her weight, preparing to stab the hog with Metal Claw the moment he touched her. . .

That's when everyone heard the sound, the rallying cry, an unmistakable and primal call.

The roar of a Warden. . .


	23. Battle for the Gulf

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Twenty-Three: Battle for the Gulf**

At dawn, Martian awoke as the sunlight began to slowly drive the night out of the village, briefly pausing to stretch and again going through all his items. Satisfied, the lone Warden emerged from the edges of the swamp and took the main road into town. The lone rattata guard at the gate tried to collect the visitor's tax, but quickly let the lion through after a display of bared teeth. The punk immediately knew that it couldn't even hope to match the intruding warrior one on one.

That said, the punks did have numbers, as four yungoos carelessly ran towards the luxio with the intent of turning back the intruder with a rapid show of force. The four normal types all lunged into the air at once, combining their four Tackle attacks into one. The moment before impact, the electric type raised his shield and braced against it blocking all four hostiles and bringing their momentum to a complete stop. A lot of the witnesses were puzzled by the foreigner's unusual adaptation of the move Protect. Most pokemon used Protect to create a protective bubble around themselves to defend from all angles, this warrior's variation seemed to more closely resemble the shields that ancient humans fought with. Not just for defense, but also a tool for offense.

Having thwarted the hostiles' foolish charge, Martian pushed the four rodents back with his shield to get enough room to twist and bring his Iron Tail to bear, smashing three out of the way in a single swing. The last of the four tried to retaliate with a Bite attack, only to be swatted aside midair by the lion's metallic clad claws.

"Looky here, seems we got ourselves a hero!" One of the visiting Scrafty announced as it and a few of it's Scraggy buddies emerged from one of the huts, a few stumbling under the effects of a hangover. It seemed like the visiting dark/fighting types had quite a party last night at the villagers' expense, it was about to cost them.

"Your mine hero!" The Scrafty slurred his challenge as he stormed over, "Here kitty kitty! I got a little birdy to feed you!"

Martian remained still as the drunk made it's way over, almost ignoring it until it was close enough to try and throw a punch. That was the last mistake the thug would make: The Scrafty's punch bounced off the Warden's shield before the lion twisted again and landed a direct Iron Tail onto the side of the drunk's head, stopping him with a loud snap.

The remaining scraggy quickly overcame their hangovers, but not quick enough to fair any better in combat.

It was about then that the rest of the hired thugs showed up. Mostly Yungoos, Rattata, and their evolved forms, though there were some more Scraggy mixed in and a couple unique ones. All in all, Martian was up against about seventy hostiles. No room for error.

That said, the dozen defeated pokemon laying about the ground at the lion's feet did raise some amount of concern in the mob, the rumors whispering in the back of their minds growing noticeably louder. He'd made it here from the West Coast, a trek that would leave most pokemon sore and exhausted, but he didn't show any signs of weakness or strain. Granted, he looked like a mess, his fur all dirty and matted, but he didn't look like he was about to collapse. In fact, he looked willing to take them all on by himself. Not in foolish ignorance either, there was a presence about him, an aura of competence, of someone who knew what he was doing.

Something the next challenger lacked.

"I got this!" One of the brigands boasted as he stepped forward. Another of Lady Winter's Machoke guards, armored vest and shortsword included. The fighting type was supposed to be on duty in the manor, but he chose to slack off. With so many Machoke there already how could the boss realize she was missing one?

"Give it up Kitty!" The Machoke taunted, "You can't beat me! Look at this!" The fighting type tugged on his vest, "Human armor! You know, the stuff that made humans strong enough to battle Legendaries? And look at this sword! I'm going to use it to gut you like a fish!"

"No, you won't," Martian growled. This brute dared to disgrace truly valiant warriors with his perversion of their image? Take a legacy of honor, valor, and duty lasting for centuries and mock it? The offense to his kind caused the former human's blood to boil with rage. True, he wasn't actually a human anymore in the flesh, but that didn't mean Martian wasn't proud to have come from such a mighty and remarkable race.

The Machoke was dead before he could realize his mistake in angering the warrior. Almost in the blink of an eye, the Warden crossed the distance between them, pulled the fighting-type over the shoulder onto the ground and impaled its chest with Metal Claw.

Everyone who watched the sudden takedown recoiled in both fear and shock. They were amazed at how powerful the Warden was and terrified of how brutal and violent he was. For a moment, some of the villagers questioned if the intruder was going to actually save them, or kill them alongside Lady Winter's forces.

The lion struggled for a moment trying to dislodge his paw from inside the deceased machoke's chest before managing to finally pull it out, dripping in dark crimson blood. The realization hit everyone that this was not to be the only blood spilled today. This wasn't going to be some small-time brawl or beatdown like the thugs were used to. Today was going to be an actual fight, an actual war.

Martian turned around to face the opposing force, staring them down as he assessed their warriors with an emotionless expression. For a brief moment, he did glance at some of the villagers gathered on the sidelines from the corner of his eye. With a slow inhale the Warden closed his eyes. . .

His roar was deafening. It dominated the sky with such power and ferocity that it felt like the earth and the sea were yielding to the sound. The battle-cry inflicted absolute panic among Lady Winter's forces, confirming the rumors that had been tormenting them for days. To the villagers however, it had a different effect.

That roar awakened a new side of the villagers, a side long subdued by years of oppression. It flooded each of them with a new desire to take action, to stand and fight for their homes and families. As a bonus, his rallying cry gave them the energy and vigor to make it happen. Gone were the bystanders that accepted their fate, in its place stood an army equal if not greater in size then Lady Winter's men. Their own cheers and cries soon flooded the air.

As the realization dawned on the bandits that the entire community was banding together to fight, they found themselves outnumbered and outflanked. One of the Gumshoos tried to get in a preemptive hit by hurling a pot at the luxio, only to have one of the lion's allies send it right back with Hydro Pump causing the normal type to inhale the poisonous spores meant for the Warden himself. Martian glanced over at said ally and nodded in appreciation.

The following battle would be a turning point in the Southern Gulf's history for generations. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

As Martians battle cry made its way throughout the manor, Scarlett could see it's effect on everyone in the room. Said effect was to be as expected for the most part, the visiting swine nobles and the remaining guards began looking around in growing fear. The few Steenee that were required to be present and Quillian quickly looked to the red vupix with wide eyes for confirmation.

The young vixen confirmed with a nod as a grin quickly formed on her muzzle, pausing for a moment to reach up and pull a paw full of beads off her head before getting ready to teach her "Beloved" the errors he had made. The only thing that stopped her was her mother.

"It has to be that partner of her's from Treasure Town." The white Ninetails growled as she stood up, "Salamance! Get your tail out there and kill that luxio! I want that cub's head on a wall!"

"Yes M'lady," The Dragon-Type bowed his head before running out the door, leaving them open as he took off. The dragon announced his presence with a roar of his own as he made a few orbits looking for his prey. Scarlett and the others watched from the open doorway as the dragon made a pass with a Hyper Beam, a truly devastating attack. Salamence was the strongest pokemon in the area for a reason.

It was a good thing he missed then, as Scarlett could hear Martian roar again in response to the dragon's challenge. Said dragon came around again for another pass, only for a tiny arc of electricity to shoot up in front of him as it hit the clouds.

"Ha! The bastard missed!" The pignite laughed as he turned away from the doorway, missing the sight of a rapidly forming black stormcloud, "Not that that pathetic little zap would actually do any-"

The colossal sound of thunder accompanying an equally massive and angry bolt of lightning shut the hog up real quick. The lightning bolt launched from the underside of the black stormcloud, slamming into the flying dragon with unmatched fury as it continued for the surface of the earth before hitting a palm tree. Said tree instantly exploded into a shower of splinters and steam. The Dragon-Type didn't fare any better as he fell from the sky in a trail of smoke before crashing into several of the huts that made up the town.

A new wave of cheers and battle cries erupted after the villagers watched the most dangerous of the criminals drop from the sky. With Salamance out of the picture, there was little doubt in their minds that victory was inevitable. The Warden's show of force didn't hurt morale either.

With that out of the way, Scarlett promptly turned around and headbutted the pignite from behind. Martian was going to be in the manor soon enough, the vulpix wanted to make sure it at least seemed like she was trying to keep up. That said, there was no way she could top his Thunder attack, but she could at least try. Besides, she really wanted to give this snot head a piece of her mind before her partner showed up and stole the chance.

The visiting young Nobel quickly picked his face up off the floor and quickly spun around to fight back, but flinched for a moment as Scarlett spun around using her tails to lightly smack him again in the face. With his guard down briefly, the vulpix took the opportunity to get behind him and shove him back toward the door.

The pignite stumbled forward until he tripped over himself and fell down, dazed and confused. None of this made sense! He bought that girl, he owned her! He was her master, his superior in every way. She was his birthday present. This was supposed to be a quick and easy trip overseas to make the deal and be back home by winter. None of this was supposed to happen!

While the son lay on the floor struggling to understand reality, the father quickly became enraged as his chin erupted into flames. Scarlett quickly changed her focus to the much larger hog, diving underneath one of his swinging fists before again pushing her opponent away. Unlike his offspring, the Emboar managed to stay standing as he recovered from the shove roaring in fury as his fiery beard again erupted in a display of rage and power.

At least it did before Scarlett froze his chin with Ice Beam, putting out the beard in less than a second. With the Emboar caught off guard by the fact the ice-type move came from a fire type, the vulpix had plenty of opportunity to run up and smack her head directly against his face.

Again, the elder of the two pigs managed to keep standing as he stumbled. Glaring daggers at the kitsune, the fire-fighting type started to pound the ice on his chin with his fists before the ice finally shattered, allowing his beard to burn yet again. All thoughts of restraint abandoned, the Emboar roared in fury as his whole body became surrounded in a shpere of fire before jumping up into the air.

Heat Crash, his kind's signiture move. Even with her Flash Fire ability negating the fire's effects, Scarlett knew that the much heavier pig could still crush her if he landed the hit. Best to make sure he doesn't land the hit then, a quick Smokescreen was just what Scarlett needed to evade safely. The black smoke stopped the hog from seeing where the vulpix was, but it didn't stop him from _hearing_ where she was.

"You missed me you greasy slab of bacon!" The vulpix taunted. With a quick scoff, the Emboar charged in the voice's direction with Flame Charge. As soon as he emerged from the smoke he realized his mistake: The vulpix wasn't there, but the door outside leading down the stairs was. Scarlett stood just off to the side of the doorway with a mischevious grin as the fire-fighting type sailed past her, out the door, and falling down the stairs. The hog couldn't stop until he reached the foot of the stairs, and the foot of a certain electric type.

The Emboar managed to get on his knees before he threw a punch at the luxio, but the Warden simply caught the fist and held it in place with a bloody paw, before doing the same with the other. Martian let go of the pig's fists before twisting on the spot and smashing the fire-fighting type out of the way with Iron Tail, clearing the way up the stairs to the manor.

Back in the manor, all that remained was the Pignite and the last two Machoke equipped with swords and armor to enforce Lady Winter's rule. The Pignite finally managed to attempt to stand up again, but one of the Steenee maids promptly walked up to him and bashed him on the head with a platter to knock him out.

Second to last Machoke didn't need a platter to the head to conk out, he just fainted on the spot as Martian made his way through the doorway, leaving bloody paw prints on the steps behind him. The last Machoke did try to do its job as it ran at the luxio with his sword. That said, his fate was no different as Martian knocked said sword out of the fighting-type's hand, loosely grabbed said sword with a paw, and swing said sword to cut open the machoke's side before it slipped from his poor grip.

Martian landed on his back before rolling up onto his feet again and quickly glanced at his partner. The vulpix only grinned and nodded before the two focused their attention on the now defenseless ice queen.

Lady Winter herself.

The White Ninetails seemed torn between sobbing and anger as she stepped off her throne, a few tears forming in her eyes.

"You. . ." The Ice-type softly began before her tone changed, "you. . . why you ungrateful little! I tried so hard to raise you correctly! I made sure you were fed and cared for and you abandon your own mother! You're just like your traitorous father of yours! Is everything I do for you not good enough that you run off chasing fantasies!"

"Winter, stop." A new voice interrupted. Scarlett turned around to watch as a Swampert entered the manor, taking care to step over the body of one of the Machokes. "You need to stop this Winter, think about what Igneo would have wanted. Please."

"Don't you dare speak his name," The Ice Type sneered with even more malice, "Murderer. . ."


	24. Redemption

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Twenty-Four: Redemption**

To say that Scarlett was confused would be an understatement. She knew that name: Igneo, but now she wasn't so sure who he was. From what she learned growing up was that Igneo was her father's name, a father that ran away with another female leaving his newborn daughters behind without ever looking back. A traitor to his family who abandoned them in pursuit of another woman, wealth, and power.

And what was with this swampert? How was he involved? If he was a murderer like Mother addressed him as, wouldn't she want to hire his services like all the other criminals and murderers on her payroll? How did he know who this Igneo was? And why would he bring it up with her mother?

"Winter, I know it hurts but you have to face the truth." The swampert pleaded, "He loved you and the girls. You know he wouldn't willingly abandon any of you. Your mate died a hero. You need to stop telling yourself otherwise and accept it, remember him for what he was, for what he is."

Lady Winter's entire posture changed, her tails falling to the floor as she turned her back to everyone and climbed back up to her cushion before collapsing on top of it. It was almost inaudible, but very faintly Scarlett could hear her mother beginning to cry.

Unable to stay silent any longer, Scarlett stepped forward, confused, and finally asked the Water-Ground type the first question. "Who are you?"

"My name is Swalen, Your father and I were partners for almost forty years." The swampert explained. "Had things happened differently, you would be calling me "Uncle Swalen", or at least "Daddy's friend."

"You knew my father?" Scarlett asked again, "Who was he? What was he like?"

"A good man," Swalen sighed, "He was hard to keep up with half the time, but he was by far one of the most compassionate and kindhearted pokemon I've ever met. Always wanting to help others in need or trying to satisfy his itch for adventure." The blue amphibian described before smirking a little. "Usually he did both at the same time, put us in a few uncomfortable spots but we managed."

"Then why did Father leave?" The red vulpix pressed, "Why did he abandon Mother and me and my sister?"

"It wasn't by choice," Swalen insisted, "He loved your mother, enough that he disbanded the team to settle down with her. When your sister came along he was happy, when you showed up he was overjoyed. He loved your mother and sister, but you were his absolute pride and joy, his greatest achievement and treasure."

"What happened? Please. What happened to my father?" Scarlett began to beg.

"I wish I didn't have to say it," Swalen sighed again, "I'm sorry Flaris, your father died in the line of duty. I talked him out of retirement for one last expedition, for old time's sake. We were coming back here and passed through a village when one of the buildings caught fire. Your father and I couldn't ignore it, so we stopped to help put the fire out. One of the villagers claimed there were kids still trapped inside, your dad wanted in after them."

"I tried to talk him out of it, I told him it was too dangerous, that he was retired and married, that he had two little girls to get home to. He didn't listen." The swampert continued, "He argued that he was the only fire type there and that he was the only one who could survive going into the fire after the kids. He wasn't wrong and he was going to go in either way, so I let him. Told him I'd try to put out the fire from outside and keep it from spreading. He went into the building, ignoring the smoke and falling debris as he looked for the kids. You could imagine the village's relief when he came back out carrying their children to safety until there was only one left missing."

"There was no chance to talk your father out of it, he turned around and headed right back into the fire to look for that last kid." Swalen paused, "The fire had weakened the support columns holding the roof up, your father was still inside when the building collapsed on top of him. The entire village started to dig through the rubble to find your father once the fire was out. We did, but we were too late. He was already gone."

The news saddened Scarlett, the fact that she would never meet her father was no doubt depressing, but part of her inwardly rejoiced at what she had been told. Her father wasn't a coward or a cheat! Her father was somebody that she could be proud of! There was a part of her family she could actually be proud of! Someone to admire and look up to rather than feel ashamed about. His passing was tragic, but Scarlett was thankful for the closure nevertheless.

"He did manage to save the last kid though," Swalen remembered, "He threw himself on top of it when the building collapsed, saved the kid's like at the cost of his own. He died a hero for what it's worth. But believe me, not a day goes by that I wish I did something different so he didn't have to."

Scarlett could tell that the guilt still haunted the large amphibian, genuine regret that wasn't forced or faked. There was no doubt in the vulpix's mind that the swampert was telling the truth, a light almost faint tickle itched in the back of her mind only seemed to further confirm it. She couldn't pick what exactly stood out, the sound of his voice or maybe his scent, but the kitsune could swear she'd heard and smelled those before. She couldn't remember him, but she hadn't forgotten those details either.

Scarlett didn't even realize what she was doing until she felt the swampert tense up as she nuzzled into him. She had just acted out of instinct, leaning into the large amphibian's side as if he were family.

As far as she was concerned, he was. And she would give him all of the love and devotion he deserved.

Swalen stayed petrified, trying to overcome his confusion. He definitely didn't expect her to respond the way she did. After all, it was his decision that led to the events that killed her father. More than enough reason for her to hate his guts by itself. He swore on his partner's grave that he would look after his family, an oath he had failed to keep not once as Lady Winter's grief drove her mad, but thrice as he failed to be there for either the girls when they needed a father figure. Even with all those mistakes, even with all the misery the vulpix endured because of his failures, she didn't blame him. With everything wrong in her life, she refused to blame him and hold him responsible. Instead, she _forgave_ him. She welcomed the amphibian back into her life with a loving embrace.

Maybe, maybe there was a chance he could still keep a part of his promise, maybe he could be there for her from now on. It's what Igneo would have wanted, for both of them. The past seventeen years of regret and sorrow melting away as Swalen relaxed and wrapped one arm around his niece to return the embrace. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

Swalen went on for a while, explaining exactly what had happened that caused Lady Winter to deteriorate into the emotionally detached fragment of her former self. Put simply, Lady Winter never managed to acclimate to her mate's passing. She was just as much a victim as those she wronged, forever ensnared in a cycle of anger and grief. This constant loop brought about a wave of paranoia, a fear that she would lose the only two things she had left: her twin girls.

That paranoia, combined with the irrational thought that she couldn't lose her daughters if they never were in danger, caused her to devote herself to her desperate yet misguided effort to protect them from the world that would take them from her. As time went on, she became more and more detached from the world she knew. Eventually, she was so far removed that she couldn't see things for right or wrong anymore. If it meant she could influence or control the world and keep from losing her daughters, she did it: whether it was legal of fair didn't matter anymore.

Yet even with all of that, Lady Winter was still slowly losing one of her daughters: Scarlett. The Red Vulpix's similarities with her father were clear from birth, and the parallels only increased as she grew older despite Lady Winter's attempts at trying to steer the fire type away from that direction. The mother just couldn't stand the thought of losing her daughter the same way she had lost her mate, and was desperate to make sure that her daughter wouldn't choose to walk that same path as her father. Even if that meant not letting her choose at all.

That of course lead to Scarlett choosing to run away from her home, in effect suddenly disappearing without a trace just like her father before her. One of Lady Winter's greatest fears, only topped by her horror when she realized that her daughter had gone on to join an exploration team as well. Any other fate would have been preferable according to the mother's irrational logic, _any fate_ as long as Winter was sure it would keep her daughter from the same deathtrap that claimed her mate.

That included selling her own daughter off into slavery as a bride to a corrupt and dirty pig from overseas. At least over there she wouldn't go hungry or manage to escape and join an exploration team. She would be miserable, but at least she couldn't die the same way her father did.

As Swalen finished explaining the how and whys throughout the years, Scarlett grew increasingly conflicted as to what should happen next. She couldn't allow her mother to stay in power and continue to harm people, but deep down a part of the vulpix sympathized with her mother. Again, she was just as much of a victim as those she had inflicted harm on, her own perpetual misery hurt her just as much as it did everyone else. All of her crimes and wrongdoings were simply her misguided attempts at trying overcome her grief. Every attempt at trying to move on had only made the situation worse.

Most pokemon seem divided between locking the widow in prison to spend the rest of her life in the company of killers, criminals, and monsters, or decisively ending the crime lord's reign with the same amount of mercy she had granted them: Absolutely none.

In the end, Scarlett couldn't choose between taking her mother's life or condemning it to prison. She just couldn't do it. Maybe she was being biased, hoping that by some miracle she could return her mother, and what was left of her family back to normal. Martian couldn't offer any meaningful advice and made it clear that he wouldn't make the choice for her, for better or worse. Quill was equally unable to help Scarlett come to a decision, failing to see any other possible ending than the two choices she already had, both of which would absolutely tear the vulpix apart on the inside.

Night eventually fell on the Southern Gulf, and most pokemon had already retired for the night. Lady Winter and Glacia were escorted to their rooms where they would be confined until a choice had been made. Scarlett, just simply couldn't sleep and began to walk the halls of her childhood home by moonlight.

Uncle Swalen's words continued to echo in her mind, replaying everything that had happened today. How her mother was trapped in a loop of despair, and that constant grief was the source of everything wrong with her. The red vulpix used to think she hated her mother for all she had done, but now she didn't so much hate her mother as much as she hated what that grief turned her into.

No one had managed it yet, but maybe there was a way to break that cycle, get her mom back from the monster she had become. A lot of people had tried already, but Scarlett was fairly certain no one had tried to do exactly what she was thinking.

With a deep breath, Scarlett quietly pushed open the door into her mother's chamber and snuck in, silently creeping closer to her sleeping parent.

 **Wardens Eternal**

As an owl, Quillian was able to get by on an absolute minimum amount of sleep. That meant he was more than awake when he saw Scarlett walking through the halls at night. He silently followed her for a while, to try to avoid startling her and to make sure she was okay. The Dartrix quickly grew worried when he realized that his friend had snuck into Lady Winter's bedchamber, fearing that the vulpix was going to do something she'd regret. He quickly flew over to the open door and peered in, about to tell her to stop whatever she was doing until he let out a relieved sigh.

The vulpix did nothing to harm her mother like the owl feared, instead she nuzzled her way under her parent's leg and snuggled in, quietly murmuring something as she finally fell asleep in her mother's embrace.

Quillian quietly closed the door with a small smile, things were definitely changing for the better for Scarlett, and as a close friend and confidant, he couldn't be any more happy for her. . .


	25. Found and Lost

**Wardens Eternal**

 **Chapter Twenty-Five: Found and Lost**

The pokemon of the Southern Gulf were slow to realize their victory over their oppressors once the Warden had entered the manor. A few of the brigands were still putting up a fight here or there, but none of the holdouts lasted any longer than three hours. By the time the fighting had stopped, almost every one of Lady Winter's enforcers, as well as the Scraggy that accompanied the buyers from overseas lay dead. Less than a dozen managed to flee the settlement with nothing more than their worthless lives.

The good news was that not a single one of the villagers had perished throughout the battle. How the fruit pickers and performers managed to drive out a small army of hardened criminals without losing even a single life was beyond them, but they welcomed the miracle nonetheless.

The bad news was that their town bore victim to the battle's collateral damage bringing it to the brink of ruins. The streets and walls were littered with bodies, blood splatters, and battle damage. Many of the bamboo huts they called home had been destroyed one way or another. They had their work cut out for them if they were going to rebuild, but at least their home was theirs again.

As ironically as it sounded, the residents were equally relieved that all of their children had been kept in the dungeon during the time of the battle, keeping them safely out of the way and sparing the youth the sight of bloodshed. One of the first orders of business was to remove all of the bodies so the kids didn't have to stay cooped up or have to look at the corpses.

The bodies were dragged aboard the ship that brought the Pignite and company overseas, fitting since a notable portion of the bodies belonged to the ship's crew. The idea was that the pod of Lapras could push the vessel out to sea and scuttle it once they were finished loading. Besides, it wasn't like the Pignite or his father were going to be in any position to reclaim it. The loading was almost finished save for one: Salamance.

The dragon had barely survived the lightning strike and the crash that followed, still barely clinging on to life with whatever semblance of strength he had left. Unfortunately for him, the ditch he dug as he crash-landed ended inside what was left of Primarina's home. The Selkie lacked any pity when she found him. She had a grudge to settle with the wounded reptile, a desire to avenge her beloved mate Walrien's execution by the dragon's claws. No one stopped her as she sealed the dragon inside a coffin of ice. That said, it did require a lot of teamwork to carry the large dragon's frozen casket back to the ship.

The blood splatters required far less effort to clean up, shifting the sand underneath did the job for the most part. Everywhere else, the crusty red film could easily be scrapped, sanded, or scratched off. With the last of the bloodshed cleaned up and the last passenger loaded aboard the ship, it was safe to let the kids out of the dungeon.

Many of the youth were confused as they emerged from the darkness back into the light. Many saw their hut homes in splinters, their hometown still littered with battle damage. But most confusing was the lack of the mean pokemon. One by one, each child began to rejoice and cheer, laugh and play. One of the most beautiful sights any of their parents had ever seen.

Celebrations and relaxations carried on into the evening, many of the parents finally having the chance to freely lounge around and socialize without the threat of interruption. As night began to fall, every hut regardless of condition was quickly torn down with ease. Every piece of the bamboo walls and grass roofs served as fuel for many great bonfires on the beaches throughout the night. The Southern Gulf was going to be rebuilt, and it's residents wanted a clean slate to work from. As for having a place to sleep in the meantime, everyone was perfectly content to just fall asleep on the sand with the stars watching from above and friends and family all around them.

The Southern Gulf had a reputation for being a paradise, starting tonight, that reputation is now a reality. . .

 **Wardens Eternal**

Dawn the next day, and Scarlett awoke to find herself still wrapped up in her mother's embrace, feeling as her chest rose up and down with each breath. It just wouldn't be enough, so Scarlett rather forcefully pushed herself tighter into her parent's fur. It had been years since the vulpix could remember when she last cuddled with her mother, her hope was that it would help Lady Winter realize how things had changed, but how they could also go back to a better time.

"You always were the cuddler, you know that right?" The ninetails whispered, her previously emotionless tone now beginning to show contentment and happiness for the first time in years. "Your sister liked to snuggle too, but she didn't come in here and demand it like you did, you were very persistent when it came to cuddle time." The mother quietly chuckled, "Your father thought it was absolutely adorable."

The adult flinched the moment she heard the words come out of her mouth. For a while, the widow couldn't believe she had actually said something positive about her beloved. After years of directing negativity at her mate, it felt very strange to say something nice instead. Memories she had long suppressed under her emotionless facade began to wiggle free. The Ice queen tried to prevent them, but with her daughter again curled up in her grasp, she was helpless to stop them from returning.

The ninetails snarled briefly as she shook her head, trying to force the memories back into submission with grief and anger, it worked but not before a single image flashed across her mind. Too quick to discern what it was, but just long enough to leave her curious and longing for it to return.

That moment of weakness was all that she needed, within moments her former life had flashed before her eyes. Her childhood as a white vulpix herself, her first crush and the day she first met Igneo and Swalen. At first, the relationship was purely professional, As an Exploration Team, the boys had coin and Winter, being an inspiring entrepreneur knew what to do with that coin. Not every choice she made guaranteed their coin back, but it worked out enough that they always came to her for such services. A few years and Winter was having a hard time trying to ignore the fun, but kind Arcanine that always made her day. She was falling in love with the fire type. At the time, she had just evolved into a white ninetails so she was a popular subject for most of the guys. She still wasn't sure who tipped Igneo off that she was smitten with him, but she didn't care when he admitted he returned the feelings.

A few more years and they became a couple, mates, but even then she wanted something more, a family. Igneo admitted he wanted to start one too, but thought it would have been unwise at the time considering his work as an explorer. That, and they couldn't find a place to settle down to their liking, so they decided to postpone until they could make one. Twelve years, Igneo would bring in the coin that she would take and invest in developing a new settlement. That settlement was the Southern Gulf, and when the couple retired and settled there Winter adapted the title of lady since technically she did own either all the businesses or the land they were built on.

Another year went by, and Winter began to feel as though she was sick, she wasn't: She was with child, actually two of them. Little Flaris and Glacia were born both deaf and blind, so helpless but so full of life. As soon as the kits opened their eyes, Igneo wanted to be with the little red vulpix as much as possible. Said vulpix wanted to be with her father just as much if not more.

Those two months were the best of Winter's life, every minute detail from that period of time chipped away at her current persona little by little. Part of the ninetails wanted to smile, another to cry, but mostly she just wanted the longing to end. She missed those days, when everything always turned out alright. Those nights where she could fall asleep next to the love of her life, and sometimes be joined by a certain baby girl.

Scarlett took the opportunity to again snuggle into her mother's embrace, looking up just in time to see her mother look down at her in confusion. The ninetails' confused expression persisted for a few seconds before she started to cry. Scarlett was up in a heartbeat, coming around in front of her resting mother before softly poking the white kitsune's nose with her own.

Lady Winter looked back with teary eyes before picking herself up of the bed, visibly weakened, she managed to rise to her feet. The ninetails reached out to the red vulpix with one paw, touching just behind Scarlett's ear before sliding down to the side of her face.

"Flari- Scarlett," Winter weakly smirked as she corrected herself, "Since when did you become such a beautiful young woman?"

Scarlett could only respond by tackling her mother in the strongest embrace she could muster.

 **Wardens Eternal**

When Scarlett announced her idea as to what would happen next to the residents of the Southern Gulf, a few quickly and loudly objected at how the former Ice Queen was getting off so easy. Thankfully, Martian was quickly able to restore order with a single word, allowing Scarlett to fully explain her plan and eventually convince the villagers to accept it.

It wasn't exactly a secret that the Pokemon overseas were rampant with corruption, feudal nations constantly warring against one another for power and territory proved to be a breeding ground for all sorts of less reputable practices. Their nobility did nothing but embrace the corruption, willing to resort to any means to achieve an edge over their rivals. That attitude created a sort of cold war between the continents on opposite sides of the sea. Corrupt nobility on one side trying to expand their operations on the other, and the Sheriff's offices and exploration teams trying to stop them.

Lady Winter didn't hesitate to do business with many of those corrupt nobles, the Pignite and Emboar she tried to sell her daughter to being just one example. In effect turning the Southern Gulf into a beachhead for those kinds of pokemon, a place to regroup and launch their operations from in exchange for a slice of the profits. That meant that Lady Winter knew almost everything there was to know about those ventures. They all had to run through her first.

As the ninetails cooperated with the Sheriff, confessing everything she knew, he was able to compile so much intelligence and testimony regarding illegal operations along the coast it would keep the law enforcement community and any exploration teams helping them busy for weeks. Regardless, Winter's confession almost single-handedly uprooted every corrupt foreign activity on the continent. Add in that the Southern Gulf would no longer serve as a staging area for future operations, and the pokemon from overseas would soon find themselves kicked off the continent for good with no way to get back and start over without a fight.

As for Winter herself, while her cooperation didn't completely excuse her involvement, it did help make a deal that avoided a prison sentence. The ninetails was to be exiled from the local area never to return, she was free to choose where she'd go next on the condition that she'd never again wield power or go anywhere without explicit permission from the local Sheriff or the equivalent wherever she settled down.

Winter would no longer pose a threat to anyone ever again, but she'd still be in control of what was left of her life. All in all, the deal satisfied all involved parties.

As for Glacia, things weren't working out so well. Having others tend to her needs all her life, the white vulpix never learned how to fend for herself growing up, leaving her completely reliant on other pokemon to do everything for her. Add in the fact that she continued to believe herself superior to everyone else, and her potential future didn't look too good.

Had Winter been a better mother, teaching her daughters how to survive on their own in the world rather than try to shield them from it, it would have been a different story. Again, the ninetails' attempt at protecting her offspring had only hurt them in the long run. Scarlett was lucky that she had the opportunity to correct it on her own, as well as the wisdom to see it through. Glacia made it quite clear she didn't want to change regardless of who tried to persuade her.

Winter tried to plead with her daughter, begging for a chance to correct another of her mistakes. Glacia refused with a pout, soon verbally lashing out at her own mother, breaking the ninetail's heart. The guilt was inescapable, Winter had set the white vulpix on this path, but now that she realized it would only lead to ruin she wanted to get her daughter off it. Glacia was adamant on sticking to it, something Winter could only blame on herself.

Scarlett had no better luck trying to get her sister back, the icy kit continued to mock and belittle her twin while ignoring everything the fire-type tried to say.

"Glacia, _Sister!_ Stop! Listen to me" Scarlett finally raised her voice as she managed to corner her sister, giving the twin no choice but to acknowledge her presence. "Please, don't do this. Don't do this to Mother, she's just made peace with Father's passing. Don't make her lose you too, don't make me lose you. Please. . ." The fire type pleaded with tears in her eyes, if this didn't work, only Arceus knew what would.

"Out of my way _filth!"_ The ice type commanded, raising a paw and proceeding to slap her twin on the side of her jaw. It was a light slap, nowhere near enough to do anything to the battle-hardened fire type, but she still flinched.

Almost out of reflex, Scarlett glared at her twin and retaliated with a smack of her own. The fire type definitely hit harder then her sister's weak and dainty slap, but definitely not hard enough to significantly hurt her. Then again, with her sister's inexperience with pain, it felt like absolute agony for her. Either way, Scarlett felt really good after finally realising her pent up irritation caused by her sister over the years. Turning her tails to the whimpering pile of fur behind her, Scarlett strode right out the door and slammed it behind her.

Then she promptly collapsed onto the floor and began whimpering herself: She'd failed to get her sister back, failed to help her mother rescue her daughter from the mistakes of the past, and she left her sibling to fate by striking her. Quillian's shoulder provided an excellent point to let her tears flow as the owl embraced her to provide support, paying no mind to the teardrops that fell onto his feathers. . .


End file.
